K’taka reports 100k more deaths in first 6 months compared to pre-pandemic years: Data

Bengaluru: Compared to pre-pandemic years, Karnataka reported an excess of over 1,00,000 deaths between January 1 and June 15 this year

Bengaluru: Compared to pre-pandemic years, Karnataka reported an excess of over 1,00,000 deaths between January 1 and June 15 this year. According to the data from the civil registration system (CRS) of the Registrar of Births and Deaths, in these first six months, Karnataka reported 3,37,000 deaths.

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While the official website didn’t have data for the year 2020 due to technical issues, the data for years 2018 and 2019 were available. According to the data, between January and June in 2018, 2,24,000 deaths were reported while in 2019, the number of deaths stood at 2,35,000.

The figure of 1,02,429 deaths raises concern about underreporting of Covid-19 cases since the excess is around five times more than the government’s Covid-19 death tally. As per the Karnataka health and family welfare department, 21,048 deaths were reported in the first six months of this year.

“There is certainly no underreporting in the state. We are releasing the data that is available to us every day. If people are not reporting Covid-related deaths it needs to be looked at,” said a senior health department official, who didn’t want to be named.

Despite the denial, the numbers tell a different story. Between 2015 and 2019, on an average, Karnataka issued 4,57,669 death certificates for five years with the number of mortalities showing a gradual increase over the years.

As per the data, most of the deaths in the state were reported in Bengaluru city. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has approved 87,082 applications for death certificates from January 1 to June 15, this year.

While data on the deaths reported in the BBMP jurisdiction is not provided by the department for the pre-pandemic years, Bengaluru Urban district — which includes BBMP — recorded only 37,195 deaths between January 1 and June 30 in 2019. In 2018, during the same six-month period, Bengaluru Urban recorded 35,262 deaths.

A comparison of the cases in the month of June 2019 and 2021 shows a 48.7% increase in the number of deaths.

While the pandemic was at its peak, an allegation was levelled against the BBMP for under-reporting Covid deaths. Between March 1 and April 26, the state government reported 1,422 Covid-related deaths in Bengaluru, However, data collected from crematoria showed that 3,104 Covid protocol cremations were done in the same period. The BBMP had then claimed that bodies from neighbouring districts were being buried in the city, to justify the difference in numbers.

Karnataka health minister and BBMP commissioner didn’t respond to HT’s calls for comment.