MCDs allege under-reporting of coronavirus deaths in Delhi

NEW DELHI: The three BJP-ruled municipal corporations again alleged the AAP-led Delhi government was under-reporting deaths due to coronavirus, a claim refuted by the ruling party which accused the MCDs of ‘politicising’ the issue.

According to Delhi government data, the total number of coronavirus deaths in the city was 8,512 as on November 23, while the civic bodies claimed they carried out 10,318 funerals following Covid-19 protocols. East Delhi mayor Nirmal Jain said the government should explain why official figures were lower than the numbers provided by the MCDs.

“Every Covid-19 victim or suspect body cremated or buried at cremation and burial grounds under East Delhi Municipal Corporation is properly documented so there is no room for any question on figures compiled by us,” Jain said. An AAP leader said the matter was being ‘politicised’ by the BJP-led municipal corporations.

He explained the mismatch by saying that non-Delhi residents succumbing to the virus in the national capital were being cremated here, but their death gets added to the tolls in their respective states. “The BJP-led MCD’s are trying to politicise this.

Moreover, lot of patients from other states get treated in Delhi and they at times are cremated here, but their death gets added to the toll of the states they have come from,” the leader said. In June too, leaders of the three BJP-led municipal corporations had claimed that over 2,000 Covid-19 deaths had taken place in Delhi by then when the official tally stood at 1,085.

Reacting, the government had said the Covid-19 death audit committee was “working impartially”, and that was “not a time for blame-game but to work together”. The government had also explained that it was because of the backlog data that wasn’t reported by the hospitals. North Delhi Mayor Jai Prakash said 4,521 bodies of Covid positive and suspected patients have been cremated at various grounds of North DMC since March 2020 to November 23. 

ISSUE BEING POLITICISED: AAP LEADER
An AAP leader said the matter was being ‘politicised’ by the BJP-led municipal corporations of the city. He explained the mismatch by saying that non-Delhi residents succumbing to the virus in the national
capital were being cremated here, but their death gets added to the tolls in their respective states