The Congress has appointed 10 members as ‘Covid warriors’ in each village as part of an initiative to audit COVID-19 deaths in Karnataka because, KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar claimed, the State government has been under-reporting deaths.
The party would provide a list of COVID-19 deaths in Karnataka to the government after completing the survey, he told mediapersons in Bengaluru on July 1.
“Covid warriors will visit each house and collect data of COVID-19 deaths,” he said.
Senior leaders of the party too will visit villages as observers, said Mr. Shivakumar, who visited Chamarajanagar on June 29 and met families who had lost their bread-earning members in the pandemic. The party would pay compensation to families who had lost their members owing to COVID-19, he said.
Blaming the government for deaths of 26 patients owing to shortage of oxygen in Chamarajanagar district hospital during the second wave, the KPCC chief accused the district in-charge Minister (S. Suresh Kumar) of misleading the public. He demanded registration of an FIR against the Minister.
Mr. Shivakumar alleged that hospital staff removed jewellery, such as ear and nose rings from dead bodies. Moreover, the government has not paid adequate compensation to families impacted by the pandemic, he alleged.
The Congress welcomed the Supreme Court directive to the Centre on framing guidelines within six weeks for ex-gratia to family members of those who lost their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
KPCC working president Eshwar Khandre alleged that there were glaring differences in actual COVID-19 deaths and the figures given by the BJP government.
