Karnataka's Nanjangud Covid warrior ends life, doctors threaten to go on strike

MYSURU/BENGALURU: Hours after a 42-year-old Nanjangud taluk health officer committed suicide on Thursday unable to handle pressure on ramping up Covid tests, medical officers working for the state government threatened to launch a state-wide protest from August 24 if the affected families weren't given adequate compensation.

Dr SR Nagendra committed suicide by hanging at his Alanahalli residence in Nanjangud, about 30km from Mysuru. He had not taken a day's leave after the outbreak of Covid-19 in February-March and had sent his wife along with their daughter to her hometown some months ago.
As the news of Dr Nagendra's death spread, health workers from across the district, including doctors and nurses, staged a protest outside the district health office in Mysuru. Later, the body of the officer was brought to the protest site. The protesters held a top officer of the Mysuru zilla panchayat responsible for his death.
Doctors called off their protest after medical education minister K Sudhakar announced a Rs 30-lakh compensation for his family and promised action against officials who allegedly set unrealistic testing targets. The body was shifted to KR Hospital in the night for a postmortem.
‘He ended life due to work stress’
Police said they did not find any suicide note in his house. Sources said Nagendra bought milk and newspapers around 6.30am and was found dead at 10am when his colleagues came to his house to pick him up for office. He joined Nanjangud taluk hospital a year ago.
Karnataka Government Medical Officers’ Association urged the government to grant compensation to families of doctors and health workers who succumb to Covid-19. Association president Dr Srinivasa Gulur claimed: “He committed suicide due to work stress and pressure from top officials.”