Bihar BJP MP Rajeev Pratap Rudy and Jan Adhikar Party chief Pappu Yadav engaged in a war of words after a fleet of ambulances were found lying unused on a piece of land belonging to the parliamentarian.
At a time when the country is battling the pandemic and people are grappling for hospital beds, a dedicated Covid hospital in Bihar, equipped with oxygen cylinders, remains shut as officials claim they do not have any patient who requires treatment at the facility.
The 60-bed hospital in Simri Bakhtiyarpur block of Saharsa district was opened last year when the first wave of Covid-19 hit the country and Bihar government declared it a dedicated Covid hospital. The hospital which ran for a few weeks last year has remained shut for several months.
Yadav, who is also a former MP, has demanded to know why the ambulances were kept off the streets at a time when the district and state is battling a huge rise in Covid cases, and medical resources like ambulances, drugs and oxygen are in short supply.
Pappu Yadav said there are close to 100 ambulances were parked here. the people of Bihar want to know why they were not being used. He said this is not about Rudy or Pappu, this is about Bihar and the people of Bihar.
Rudy, who holds the Saran constituency that was previously held by RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, hit back saying the ambulances were stationary because of a lack of drivers. Rudy retorted saying the ambulances were lying unused for want of drivers. He said there are not 60, 70 or 100 ambulances, but only 20 and they are not being used due to lack of drivers.
Rudy on Thursday also wrote to the District Magistrate of Chhapra to ask for doctors who can drive the ambulances. Visuals showed Yadav removing the tarpaulin covers of a few ambulances at Rudy’s native village, Madhaura, in Saran.
Bihar reported over 13,000 new Covid cases and 62 deaths in the past 24 hours. The active caseload is more than 1.15 lakh mark, and over 3,000 people have died due to the virus.
On Wednesday Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the state – one of 10 states accounting for more than half of daily new cases, according to the centre – would go into lockdown till May 15.