Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday said that he has written to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya stating it is difficult to find out deaths related to oxygen scarcity.
“Delhi recorded 25,000 Covid -19 deaths but it is not known how many deaths occurred due to lack of oxygen,” Sisodia said.
He said that the Centre should cooperate in investigating the deaths due to lack of oxygen and the Union Government should approve the investigation committee constituted by the city Government.
“It would be wrong to assume that there were no deaths due to lack of oxygen during the second wave of Covid-19 in Delhi. We have to admit that there have been deaths due to the lack ofoxygen in Delhi,” he added. Earlier, Sisodia had said that the Central Government, adopting a very irresponsible and insensitive attitude, refused to accept that there were any deaths due to lack of oxygen in the country.
It is pivotal to mention here that while the Delhi Government had formed a high-level inquiry committee of health experts to investigate the deaths due to lack of oxygen and provide a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the victim's family, the Central Government had dismissed the Committee through the LG.
“Delhi Government is ready to investigate the deaths that occurred due to the lack of oxygen and this investigation will be done with full responsibility,” Sisodia said and appealed to the Central government that this time the LG should not dismiss the inquiry committee, but cooperate with city Government in investigating the deaths due to lack of oxygen.
Last month, Opposition parties had hit out at the Government for informing Parliament that no deaths due to oxygen shortage were specifically reported by states and Union Territories during the second COVID-19 wave. On Tuesday, however, a top official said only one state has till now reported "suspected" death due to oxygen shortage during the second wave after the Centre sought data from them on such fatalities following the raising of the issue in Parliament.