On Thursday, as many as 32 bodies were cremated/buried in Rajkot city as per the COVID-19 protocols but according to the Gujarat government’s health bulletin, there have only been three deaths from the virus in the city. Similarly the city recorded the last rites of 101 bodies under the COVID-19 protocols while the number went up to 334 in August. However, according to government data, less than 100 deaths have been ascribed to COVID-19 in Rajkot.
The discrepancy over the number of fatalities caused by COVID-19 in Rajkot city and district has sparked a massive controversy after the local media published daily figures from crematoria and burial grounds.
“The situation is alarming in Rajkot as almost two dozen deaths are occurring in the city and district per day for the last several days,” a resident of Rajkot told The Hindu, adding that the local civic body has even pulled down the dashboard which used to provide details about number of cases, deaths, active cases etc.
The local dailies have reported that there is a waiting period of three to four hours at crematoria as fatalities are surging. On Friday, a leading noon paper of Rajkot Aaj Kal reported the names of 32 persons who died of virus infection and whose bodies were cremated as per COVID-19 protocols.
Earlier on Thursday, the same daily reported that as many as 798 people have lost their lives after being infected by coronavirus.
“In our paper, we have reported the details obtained from the crematoriums about deaths caused by the infectious disease,” Aaj Kal editor Anil Jethani said, adding that 524 dead bodies were cremated at Ramnathpara crematorium, 145 at 80 feet road crematorium, 91 at Mota Mava crematorium and 38 at Sadar burial ground.”
The State Health Department and local civic body have not commented on the mortality figures quoted by the local press and opposition leaders. On Friday, Gujarat Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia tweeted that the situation in Rajkot had gone out of control.
Gujarat’s Principal Secretary (health and family welfare) Jayanti Ravi was rushed to Rajkot where she has been camping for the last several days when the rising fatality figures started surfacing. Local channels have even shown videos of bodies piling up at Rajkot civil hospital lobby which has been made inaccessible now.
This is not the first time, though, that controversy has erupted over fatality counts due to COVID-19 in Gujarat. Earlier, the data obtained from crematoria and burial grounds from Surat had shown huge disparity with the official figures put out by the State Health Department.
Officially, as on Friday, Gujarat’s caseload has risen to 10,1695 with 1,320 new infections, while fatality numbers have reached at 3,078 with 14 new deaths reported as per the Health Department’s release.