Chamarajanagar: Chamarajanagar Deputy Commissioner Dr. M.R. Ravi, who has come under fire for the District Hospital tragedy where 24 COVID-19 patients lost their lives due to oxygen shortage, has refuted the claims of Mysuru Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri over timely supply of oxygen. 

He has issued a press release stating that the Mysuru District Administration did not respond properly to the medical emergency at Chamarajanagar last Sunday and was responsible for the tragedy. 

As the news of 24 patients dying flooded the media last Monday morning, the Mysuru District Administration issued a media statement that it had ensured the supply of 250 oxygen cylinders for which there were records to support. 

“As per the request from Chamarajanagar, oxygen cylinders have been sent from Mysuru on humanitarian grounds. There has been no delay in oxygen supply from Mysuru and we have a record that supports our claim that 210 cylinders were sent from Southern Gas, Mysuru and 40 oxygen cylinders were sent from Mysuru District Hospital,” the Mysuru DC’s statement said. 

But Dr. Ravi has claimed that 66 oxygen cylinders reached Chamarajanagar at around 1.30 pm on Sunday when the Liquid Medical Oxygen storage tank in the Hospital got exhausted. 

At around 6 pm he received 65 oxygen cylinders from a private vendor in Mysuru. There was a requirement of an additional 100 oxygen cylinders but it was not delivered on time, he said. 

“I then personally contacted the vendor in Mysuru at 11.45 pm following which another 50 cylinders were delivered at 2.20 am on Monday. Hence the claim of the Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru that 250 oxygen cylinders were delivered, is far from truth,’’ said Ravi. 

“70 cylinders arrived on Monday at 6 am of which 40 were from Mysuru District Administration and 30 from a private vendor,” he clarified. Both Rohini Sindhuri and Dr. Ravi have explained their versions to the Government that has already initiated a probe under senior IAS Officer and  KSRTC Managing Director Shivayogi Kalasad.