Out of 15, 13 deaths are victims of Bhopal gas tragedy

Out of 15 coronavirus-related deaths in Bhopal, 13 deceased were survivors of Bhopal gas tragedy.

Organisations working for the wellbeing of Bhopal gas tragedy survivors claim they had informed the government that these survivors could be badly affected by the coronavirus.

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"We had informed the government on March 21 only that if special attention was not given to the victims of the tragedy then people would die. It is because most of the victims have problems related to lungs, kidney and heart," said Rachna Dhingra, Bhopal Group for Information and Action.

"What`s shocking is that none of them were provided their reports regarding COVID-19 and all reporting was done after deaths. This means that it was too late when they reached hospital and they died in less time," she added.

Few days ago, some organisations had also filed a petition in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, requesting that a dedicated medical facility should be provided for the treatment of thesevictims. However, the organisations feel not much has been provided by the government. Rachna informed the media that the government converted super-speciality Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Center (BMHRC) for gas victims, and turned it into a medical facility for COVID-19 patients, which has caused increased problems for the victims.

Explaining how they deduced the 13 deaths were of gas tragedy victims, she said, "We have interacted with the families of all of them. We tried to find out few things - if they were gas tragedy victims, then we found their IDs and other related documents; second we found out their age and what problems they were suffering from."

Madhya Pradesh has a total of2,660 positive coronavirus cases, and 130 deaths.Indore has been reported asthe worst-affected district.