E-Paper
Rajasthan to audit Covid-19 deaths following allegations of under reporting
While BJP leaders alleged that Rajasthan was hiding the actual number of Covid-19 deaths, health minister ruled it out claiming every Covid-19 related death was being recorded meticulously in hospitals.
The Rajasthan government has ordered an audit of deaths caused by Covid-19 amid opposition allegations that the official death toll discounted several unreported deaths in the rural areas of the state.
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, said, “We are worried about the lives of people, not figures. Our government is fighting the war against Corona with the cooperation of all sections of the society [and] with complete transparency,” he said.
The Gehlot government has also indicated the audit will also help in targeted welfare measures for families that have lost earning members due to Covid-19, which has profoundly impacted people’s mental, social and economic conditions.
According to the health department, 7,911 people have succumbed to Covid-19 in Rajasthan till date. However, a news daily claimed its survey listed 14,482 deaths in the state’s 25 rural districts between April 1 and May 20 this year alone, while the government’s record puts the number of deaths in this period to 3,918. Rajasthan has 33 districts in all.
While the Bharatiaya Janata Party (BJP) leaders alleged that the state government was hiding the actual number of Covid-19 deaths in Rajasthan, health minister Raghu Sharma ruled it out claiming every Covid-19 related death was being recorded meticulously in Covid hospitals.
“There is no possibility of any kind of irregularity. Strict instructions have been given against any manipulation at any level. We are worried about the lives of the people, not the figures,” he said, towing the chief minister’s line. He also credited the government for a relatively lower death rate in the state due to disease.
Dr. Sharma said that the highest Covid death rate was seen in the two months of April and May this year when a total of 5,093 patients succumbed to the disease. In the previous 13 months, the state registered only 2,818 Covid-related deaths including 1,632 deaths between August, September, October and November 2020 and 1,186 deaths in the remaining 9 months.
Dr. Sharma said that it was natural for a big state like Rajasthan, with a population of about 8 crores, to register many deaths owing to diseases, accidents, age and other reasons apart from Covid-19.
