Union Minister Babul Supriyo has accused the Bengal Government of hiding the actual number of corona-related deaths.
Close on the heels of Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh and its national leader Amit Malavya slamming Mamata Banerjee for feeding untrue facts regarding the corona deaths Supriyo said that the Chief Minister had actually created a firewall so that the real reports do not come out of the Government closet.
He said at least six more people — than what was being projected by the Government -— had died in Bengal.
The Minister on Friday said that “a firewall has been created by Mamata Banerjee” to stop the facts from coming out showing how at least 6 more deaths — than actually mentioned by the State Government — had occurred in Bengal.]
The records of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) point towards the real facts the Union Minister said adding how the six people were cremated at Dhapa cremation ground which is far from the glare of the media.
The same allegations were earlier brought by Ghosh who said that the Government was playing with the lives of the people by not following the actual guidelines provided for disposing of the bodies of corona victims. “As the bodies are not sealed — because they have not been officially earmarked as corona deaths — the people are bringing them as any other normal body putting the whole society at risk,” Ghosh earlier said.
Malavya too wondered as to “What is Mamata Banerjee hiding?” even as he tweeted “Hospital administrations across Bengal are under pressure from Mamata Banerjee, who is also the Health Minister, to underplay Covid related cases by discouraging tests and thwarting doctors from writing Corona as a reason for deaths, despite positive reports, in Death Certificates.”
Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha however refuted the allegations saying the number of corona victims is actually determined by the designated “audit committee or a committee of experts.”
He said, “the policy is that where there is co-morbidity we are not including it as a corona infected death.” He also said that the KMC has no authority to ascertain the cause of the death. “KMC cannot ascertain the cause of death,” he said insisting “I will reiterate that the number of deaths in Bengal till now continues to be five.”
The row erupted a last week when a committee of experts in a press briefing counted the number of dead patients with corona infections to 7. However two hours later at a subsequent media conference the Chief Secretary issued “some clarifications.” He said that 4 out of the reported 7 deaths were “actually due to Co-morbidity — like kidney and other ailments — reasons” adding “it is not clear whether they died due to the viral attack.”
Meanwhile even as sources in the Government said that the authorities had identified 8-10 hotspots in the State and were actually planning a complete lockdown in those areas all the officials of a nationalised bank were sent to home quarantine after the mother of the manager of that branch was diagnosed with corona positive on Thursday night. “The branch has been sealed for fumigation and the staff have been quarantined,” sources said.
Regarding the notified hotspots a senior official said “no one will be allowed to enter or exit from those areas and the police personnel will be posted. Administration will supply essential commodities in these areas.”
Elsewhere India’s first pharmaceutical company Bengal Chemicals which earlier offered to produce hydroxichloroquine have been given the license to manufacture the much sought after medicine, Health Department sources said adding however that the company has asked for supply of raw materials.
“We have requested the central government to make available the raw materials so that we can start manufacturing the drugs by the next week,” a senior official said adding “we have a capability of producing 2 crore tablets in a month’s time… if need be we can produce even more because we have the expertise to manufacture that drug.”
Bengal Chemicals, company was set up by noted chemist, educationist, historian, industrialist, philanthropist and nationalist Acharya Sir Prafulla Chandra Ray who established the first Indian research school in chemistry to be regarded as the father of chemical science in India.