Covid-19 in Karnataka: Precious lives snuffed out in a flash

MYSURU: It was a call that Rani S, 30, would like to forget in a hurry but would remember for the rest of her life. It was from her husband, Surendra and it came late in the evening.
Gasping for breath, Surendra, 35, who hails from Doddahomma, a nondescript village in Nanjangud taluk, said he wanted to see her one last time before he died. Worried stiff, Rani, together with others in the family, immediately set off for the Covid hospital in Chamarajanagar but were not allowed inside. On Monday morning, the family was told Surendra was dead.
Rani and Surendra were married only two months ago. He was the sole breadwinner of the family. “I’m unlucky,” said Rani while sitting on the steps of the hospital, clutching her mangalsutra and cursing the government for the tragedy. “Barely two months after my wedding, I’ve become a widow.”
Rani said after their wedding, she and her husband could not go anywhere because of the pandemic. She said her husband, a farmer, did not even visit her home in Keerhalli. “With whom shall I go to my mother’s home now,” she asked, breaking down. Surendra’s father had died a few years ago.
Surendra had made the video call to Rani around 8.30pm on Sunday. He had sent a separate message to his family members too about his fast-deteriorating condition. Rajanna, Surendra’s uncle said they reached the hospital around 11.30pm where they pleaded with staff for information on his condition.
“During the call to his wife, he said there was no oxygen supply. We tried to call him and WhatsApp-ed him after we rushed to the hospital. But there was no response. Our worst fears came true early in the morning when they informed us that he had died,” Rajanna said.
Surendra was admitted to the hospital on April 29. On Sunday morning, when some of the family members met him, they were told that he was improving and would be discharged in a couple of days. But that was not to be.
Following the death of 23 people, an eerie silence enveloped the Chamarajanagar Covid hospital on Monday. CJ Chandrasekhar, BJP functionary and Chamarajanagar civic body member, who lost his elder brother in the tragedy, vented his ire on officials.
“Patients were dying from Sunday evening without medical oxygen,” Chandrasekhar said. “I’m a BJP councilor and yet I was unable to save my brother. What will be the plight of the common man?” he wondered.
Two men, aged 24 and 32 years, were among the dead. Their families were looking for plasma donors but in vain. They were on oxygen support for four days.
(With inputs from Milton Lawrence and S Ramesh)