File image of Revanth Reddy | Twitter
File image of Revanth Reddy | Twitter
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New Delhi: Telangana Congress working president and MP A. Revanth Reddy Wednesday urged PM Narendra Modi to declare a health emergency in the state, accusing the K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) government of “mishandling” the Covid-19 crisis.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, which he also shared on Twitter, Reddy alleged that the KCR government had failed to pay heed to the advice of the Modi government. The state government, he said, is ignoring high court orders and not adhering to Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines.

“I would like to urge the central government to declare a health emergency in the state and take over the healthcare to avoid any more mismanagement and avoid more deaths due to their irresponsibility,” Reddy added. He said the rate at which Covid-19 is spreading in the state is “alarming”.

The positivity rate of Covid-19 in Telangana — that is, the number of people diagnosed with the disease among every 100 tests — is among the highest in India. As of Wednesday, Telangana had recorded 16,339 Covid-19 cases, of which 8,785 are active and 260 have died.

The Telangana High Court Wednesday pulled up the state government for halting Covid-19 tests in Hyderabad for two-three days last month — a decision the state attributed to a backlog of samples at labs — despite promises of pushing up testing.

‘Investigate CM relief fund’

Claiming that there is “no accountability for the lives lost”, Reddy demanded a Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) investigation into the CM relief fund.  

“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,” Reddy said.

The Congress MP has also alleged that Covid-19 testing is barely available in some of the state’s districts, and that there is a shortage of hospitals where coronavirus patients can be treated. 

“Only Gandhi Hospital is recognised as a government-approved treatment centre, where there is a lack of proper medication, sanitation, hygiene and care in treating Covid-19 positive patients,” Reddy said.

He also hit out at the newly-created Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in Gachibowli, a multi-storey sports complex that has been repurposed as a Covid-19 treatment centre, for being a “namesake hospital” — or a hospital just by name.

He claimed private hospitals in and around Hyderabad are “not being used to their potential” to fight coronavirus. 

“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 government 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,” Reddy said.