Councillors of the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) have expressed their ire over lack of beds for COVID-19 patients in private hospitals in the city.
The meeting convened on Tuesday saw many members airing their concern over the increase in the mortality rate and the rise in COVID-19 cases in Mysuru and the failure of the government to ensure that all hospitals reserve 50 per cent of the beds to treat the patients.
Former Mayor Arif Hussain said though there is a government notification to that effect and was being complied with in Bengaluru, the private hospitals in Mysuru were denying beds to COVID-19 patients.
He was supported by other members who said that the private hospitals were charging heavily to treat the COVID-19 patients and the poor were the worst affected.
The undercurrent of rift and differences between Mayor Tasneem and MCC Commissioner Gurudutt Hegde also came to the fore during the council meeting.
Ms. Tasneem alleged that the position of the Mayor had been reduced to being symbolic, shorn of any significance, and that the Commissioner had not taken her into confidence on the allotment of ₹50 lakh grant for each ward. She said though she placed the demand before the Commissioner many times, it had been ignored and she as a Mayor felt slighted.
She expressed indignation that as a result, her promises and assurances to the councillors were devoid of any substance.
It may be recalled that the district in-charge Minister S.T. Somashekar had held a meeting to resolve the perceived differences between the Mayor and the Commissioner in May. The differences emerged over the alleged failure of the officials to take the councillors into confidence on the steps being taken to handle the pandemic in the city. Mr. Somashekar had stated that there was a communication gap which had led to the differences and claimed that he had resolved it. But Tuesday’s council meeting indicates that the differences persist.
There were acrimonious scenes in the council over the alleged rape and murder of a Dalit woman in Hathras in Uttar Pradesh as the Congress and the JD(S) members raised slogans against the BJP. This led to a war of words with the BJP councillors objecting to raising the issue in the council and argued that the members should discuss issues and challenges pertaining to the city.
