Malkajgiri MP and Telangana Congress working President A Revanth Reddy wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urging him to declare a health emergency in Telangana and asked the Union government to take over the healthcare. Health is a state subject under the Constitution .
Revanth accused the Telangana government of ‘mishandling’ the COVID-19 crisis. He alleged that the KCR-led government has failed to heed the advice of the Central government, not adhering to Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines and ignoring the High Court orders.
In his letter, the Malkajgiri MP mentioned the recent deaths of journalist Manoj, who alleged that the healthcare in Gandhi Hospital is poor; and another COVID-19 patient, P Ravi Kumar, who shot a video hours before dying, stating that the staff of state-run Chest Hospital removed the ventilator though he had difficulty in breathing.
“The government claims that they are spending Rs 3.5 lakh per patient but that's nowhere to be seen in reality. There needs to be an investigation on the donations to the CM relief fund made through cheque, in the form of equipment and medicines as there is complete lack of transparency about the same. There is absolutely no accountability for the lives lost.”
The MP pointed out that the testing rate of Telangana is ‘abysmally’ low. Substantiating his argument, the MP compared the cumulative tests conducted by Telangana and Andhra Pradesh so far.
“Until now only around 70,000 tests have been conducted in total, which is really less compared to other metros and even the neighbouring state AP which did approximately 6 lakh tests until now,” he pointed out. As of Wednesday, Andhra Pradesh conducted a total of 9,18,429 tests.
“The rate of increase of COVID-19 in the state is highly alarming, As per recent figures Telangana state has the highest positivity rate in the country, standing at a 27% whereas Maharashtra itself is at 22%. This shows the alarming rate at which the virus is growing and Hyderabad has become a hub of the virus where it is multiplying at a very fast rate,” Revanth wrote.
The MP alleged that there were ‘severe’ delays in test results which resulted in complications among patients sometimes resulting in their death.
Further, Revanth said that the newly created facility -- Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences in Gachibowli-- is just a ‘namesake’ hospital.
Detailing the recent protest of junior doctors in Gandhi Hospital, Revanth alleged that the private medical colleges are not being utilized for the crisis, as they belong to the ruling party’s members and relatives.
“These medical colleges along with the hospitals already have an established set up and the infrastructure needed to fight the pandemic. These should be immediately taken over by the govt and used for the purpose of providing quarantine and isolation facilities to those who cannot afford corporate treatment due to exorbitant prices, this in turn would reduce the infection rate and community transmission,” Revanth said.