Families upset as the issue does not figure in recent special Cabinet meeting at M.M. Hills

Chamarajanagar: Over 36 COVID-19 patients lost their lives due to a lack of oxygen at Chamarajanagar District Hospital in May 2021. Now, four years later, the families of the victims, still waiting for the Government to fulfil its promises, have resolved to return the Rs. 1 lakh compensation given by the Congress.

Around 14 dependents of the deceased expressed their anguish against the State Government for not discussing their demands during the recent special Cabinet meeting at M.M. Hills.

The families submitted a memorandum to CM Siddaramaiah when he visited Chamarajanagar yesterday to lay the foundation stone for statues of eminent personalities at the District Administration Office premises. However, the CM, who received the memorandum, did not respond, further deepening the relatives’ pain.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, the grieving families said, “The Congress neither kept its promise of providing Government   jobs nor offered adequate compensation. They did not even show us the minimum courtesy of consoling us after receiving the memorandum. We feel deeply hurt and neglected.”

“When their leader Rahul Gandhi visited Gundlupet during his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, he had personally consoled the families and assured them that if the Congress came to power, one member from each of the 36 affected families would be given a Government job and adequate compensation. However, despite two years of Congress rule in Karnataka, there has been no sign of fulfilling these assurances,” they said.

Crocodile tears, says survivor

Santosh from Nallur village, a survivor of the tragedy, said sarcastically, “We will respectfully return the compensation amount if the Government fails to fulfil its promises by May 4, which marks four years since the tragedy.”

He added, “Now we understand that Rahul Gandhi and D.K. Shivakumar merely shed crocodile tears. We will be calling off our fight for justice from May 4.”

The CM Siddaramaiah and Social Welfare Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa had also promised during a Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) meeting to treat the issue as a special case and take it up during the special Cabinet meeting. But nothing has materialised so far, the families alleged.

“The same Cabinet that approved projects worth Rs. 3,647 crore couldn’t even acknowledge our pain,” rued the relatives.

They pointed out that the previous BJP Government had failed them by allowing the tragedy to happen and then ignoring their demands for relief. Now, the Congress Government, despite lofty promises of justice, has also let them down.

Having lost all hope, the families have decided to return the Rs. 1 lakh compensation given by KPCC President D.K. Shivakumar after the tragedy, the relatives of victims said.

‘Siddaramaiah will be the reason…’

We are fed up with running from pillar to post for the past four years. We are ready to die. The BJP Government took my husband’s life by failing to supply oxygen, and now the Congress Government will be the reason for my death. When we went to submit the memorandum, the CM Siddaramaiah didn’t even acknowledge our plight. If we do not get justice by May 4, I will end my life and leave behind a death note holding Siddaramaiah responsible for my death.

— Nagarathna, oxygen tragedy survivor