BENGALURU: KPCC President DK Shivakumar on Thursday raised the Chamarajanagar hospital tragedy to pin down the government. He alleged that the those who had died due to oxygen shortage had been “murdered” by the system, but no one was officially held responsible for the tragedy.
Speaking at a press conference here, he questioned, “Why hasn’t the CM or ministers visited the hospital? If you are not guilty, why don’t you visit the families?” He also said that compensation has been paid to families of only 24 of the 36 dead, although the Supreme Court has said they must be compensated in 6 months. He also said that while the government website lists the number of dead due to Covid as 3,27,985 till June 13, the government officially claims that just 30,000 have died.
He alleged that everyone, right from the minister to officers, had information about oxygen shortage, yet measures were not taken to rectify the situation. He said he had visited the families, and one of the victims was the mother of a national level shooter. “He was traumatised after he saw his mother passing away before his eyes. They tried to shift the bodies from there to cover up,” he alleged.
Among the dead, 80% were less than 40 years old, and one of the victims was a mere 3-month-old infant, while another was married for just three months. “I will take up these issues in the assembly,” he said.
Shivakumar alleged that there was also a mix-up and one of the victim’s bodies was handed over to the wrong family. “The victim’s families were also denied death certificates, which is why they are not getting compensation. The government has ‘murdered’ people and is now trying to certify some of them as natural deaths,” he said. Shivakumar distributed Rs 1 lakh to each family on behalf of the party.