Tirupati incident termed 'criminal negligence'

Mangalagiri: TDP national spokesman K Pattabhi Ram on Tuesday demanded the YSRCP government to explain why it failed to maintain continuous oxygen supplies at the SVR Ruia Hospital in Tirupati to prevent Monday's tragic death of over 11 Covid patients as per the official figures.

Pattabhi Ram termed it as 'criminal negligence' on the part of the Jagan Mohan Reddy government for not taking timely steps to prevent the deaths of the patients due to oxygen shortage. Not just at Tirupati, many more incidents took place in the last few days in which several patients died due to lack of oxygen supply in Vizianagaram, Anantapur, Kurnool, Hindupur and other places.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, the TDP leader said the prevailing situation would have been much worse in other hospitals in other parts of the state, when the well-equipped, more advanced Ruia government hospital itself had no proper facilities. Unfortunately, the relatives were becoming doctors and giving their own treatment to their patients as there was no medical care at the Ruia also.

Pattabhi Ram demanded an explanation from the Chief Minister and his Advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy as to why their special control centre for oxygen supply has miserably failed to come to the rescue of the Ruia patients. The officials were not visiting the scene of tragedy and the doctors and nurses were running away from their duties. The Chief Minister and his Advisor should take moral responsibility for these deaths, he said.

The TDP leader said Andhra Pradesh stood in the 28th place in the country in the administration of the first dose of Covid vaccination in the state. Only 10.86 per cent of the above 45 years population was covered in the first dose. This was, as per the figures of the ministry of health and family welfare. But, the Jagan Reddy regime was continuing to give wrong figures to claim that AP was standing first in the Covid prevention measures, he said.

Pattabhi Ram slammed the AP government for administering just 2,003 doses on Monday all over the state whereas Telangana gave 93,000 doses, Tamil Nadu 85,000, Rajasthan 1.83 lakh and Kerala 1.03 lakh.