Despite the hullabaloo over the issue during the second wave of Covid-19, it turns out, States and UTs did not report any death due to lack of medical oxygen. Informing this to the Rajya Sabha, the Government on Tuesday also countered the Opposition allegations of suppressing actual Covid death figures saying the Centre only compiles and publishes the data sent in by the State Governments.
“We haven’t also told anyone to show fewer numbers (of deaths) or less positive cases. There’s no reason for that,” the new Health Mansukh Mandaviya said during a short duration discussion on the issue of Covid management in the Rajya Sabha.
His deputy, the Minister of State for Health Bharati Praveen Pawar, for her part, in a written reply said: “All states and UTs report cases and deaths to the Union Health Ministry on a regular basis. However, no deaths due to lack of oxygen have been specifically reported by States and UTs.”
But there was an unprecedented surge in demand for medical oxygen during the second wave and it peaked at nearly 9,000 MT compared to 3,095 MT in the first wave following which the Centre had to step in to facilitate equitable distribution among the states, she said.
Responding to the Opposition members’ criticism of the handling of the Covid pandemic by the government, Mandaviya made a point-by-point counter to all allegations and enlisted how medical oxygen and API supplies were augmented, how vaccination production was increased and how the ongoing vaccination drive is going on. He said technology transfer to several companies has started and they will begin production in the coming days to reduce vaccine shortage in the country.
Mandaviya also allayed apprehensions and categorically said It is not appropriate to say that the Covid third wave will hit children more, citing the experience of the previous waves.
On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative of asking the masses to beat utensils or clap hands and light diyas, Mandaviya cited the example of his doctor daughter and said such acts had indeed inspired frontline warriors like her.
Initiating the discussion, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge said that the Government’s Covid-19 death toll figure of 4-5 lakh is “false” and conservative and claimed the average number of deaths cannot be less than 52.4 lakh so far in the country.
TMC MP Shantanu Sen said that during the second wave, people were dying on the roads because of the scarcity of oxygen and this has happened in the 21st century, which is a “matter of shame”.
Amar Patnaik of the BJD, however, said the world is facing a pandemic after 100 years and no government was prepared for this. But DMK’s Triuchi Siva said, “Had this MPLAD fund not been suspended, the 800 MPs would have taken up thousands of hospitals and provided funds for manufacturing of oxygen units.”
CPI (M)’s Elamaram Kareem raised his concern over the job loss of 12.2 crore Indians during the lockdown, citing data from CMIE while SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav suggested the government to increase the spending on health from the current 1.2 per cent of GDP to 3.5 per cent in the next 3-4 years.
BJP MP Swapan Dasgupta said: “In handling the pandemic the role of the state has become paramount.” Manoj Kumar Jha (RJD) said it was a collective failure of the governments from 1947 till now as no dispensation focused on creating healthcare facilities to take care of such a pandemic.
Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena) alleged that while the pandemic was spreading in the country, the government was busy sending vaccines and oxygen abroad.
A total of 26 members spoke from 21 parties. The nearly five-hour long discussion on Corona pandemic in the Rajya Sabha signaled normalcy after one and half day of disruptions starting Monday. The smooth conduct on Tuesday came about after Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and Leader of the House Piyush Goyal held discussions with opposition leaders including Anand Sharma and Jairam Ramesh(Congress), Derek O`Brien(TMC) and Tiruchi Siva(DMK).