The Congress on Saturday demanded that the State Government bear the treatment expenses of people, who would require ECMO treatment because of the Covid complications, preferably from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The party also demanded Rs 4 lakh for every Covid deceased’s family and urged the Government not to hide the deaths.
Addressing a Press conference here, PCC working president Pradeep Majhi said that because of the non-availability of ECMO machines in Odisha, many youngsters like Amrita Pradhan, Er Deepak Das, Abhishek Mohaptra and Sangram Jena were airlifted to other States for critical treatment. The State Government should at least follow the Supreme Court’s judgment to save lives of people.
Lambasting the Union Government for mismanagement of the vaccination programme and escaping from their responsibility, Majhi stated that the Modi Government has failed in taking timely steps.
Majhi and other party leaders also alleged that the Odisha Government is hiding the real number of Covid-19 deaths. While an RTI report said that 1,288 people were buried at the Bhubaneswar Satyanagar crematorium in September 2020, the Government had claimed death of only 95 people in the entire State during that month.