Are Covid deaths being underreported in Madhya Pradesh? BJP govt under fire over 'mismanagement'

The anger reflected in the Damoh Assembly seat where the Congress trounced the BJP by over 17,000 votes

After desperately battling an acute shortage of oxygen, medicines and beds in hospitals till the first week of this month that resulted in hundreds of avoidable deaths of Covid-19 patients across the state, the Madhya Pradesh government is optimistically looking forward to easing some of the lockdown restrictions.

The caseload that had peaked to over 13,000 in April has gradually come down to around 5,000 daily and the positivity rate has also plummeted from the peak of 28 per cent to around 7 per cent as the second wave of the pandemic is showing signs of having reached a peak.

However, this optimism could be dangerously deceptive, given that testing for the Covid-19 in Madhya Pradesh is among the lowest in all states and deaths are widely believed to be massively underreported.

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The rapid spread of the virus in villages, which account for 70 per cent of the state’s population, also remains a huge concern because health infrastructure in even big cities is overwhelmed, let alone the rural areas.

The state government has ramped up testing for a population of over 8 crore to 70,000 a day from 30,000 in March this year. However, the tests are mostly confined to towns and the rural areas are being neglected due to a lack of testing facility, both in terms of manpower and kits.

In vaccination too, Madhya Pradesh fares no better. Having inoculated around 92 lakh persons including all three categories (plus 60, plus 45 and plus 18), only about 23 per cent of them have got both the jabs.

Questions have been raised over the state government’s inept handling of the pandemic, as the official figure of death toll till May 18 stood at 7,139 but several news reports indicated a much higher toll.

Hindi daily 'Dainik Bhaskar' reported that 26,000 deaths were reported in the last 61 days in Madhya Pradesh, arguing that the real figure for the entire state could be much higher.

There is a wave of widespread anger among the people against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s "mismanagement" of the crisis, particularly after the second wave devastated Madhya Pradesh.

The anger reflected in the Damoh Assembly seat where the Congress trounced the ruling party by over 17,000 votes in the BJP’s strong bastion in the April 17 by-election.

After the by-poll jolt, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has accelerated efforts to improve health infrastructure. Oxygen supply and availability of necessary drugs such as Remedesivir have improved, treatments in private hospitals have been made free and free ration to the poor has been announced.

Chouhan has been assuring people in his messages daily broadcast that no efforts will be spared to ensure treatment and vaccination for all. The Congress, however, is urging the chief minister to do more.

PCC president Kamal Nath says the government bungled the pandemic from the very beginning. "Not once did the chief minister deemed it fit to consult the opposition in his government’s drive to battle the pandemic," he rues.