COVID-19 second wave: Demand for death audit in Karnataka gains momentum

Bihar and Maharashtra have already completed the exercise

The demand for an audit of all deaths reported in Karnataka over the past four months to ascertain the ‘real’ toll in the second wave of COVID-19, along the lines of a similar exercise recently conducted in Bihar, has started gaining momentum. This comes days after Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa announced compensation of ₹1 lakh to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families that have lost adult members to the virus. Public health experts, non-government organisations and the political opposition argued that amidst allegations of under-counting of deaths in Karnataka, such an audit is necessary to ensure that all eligible families avail of compensation. “How will family members avail of benefits of welfare schemes and ex-gratia if the deaths are not declared as COVID-19 deaths,” said Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President D.K. Shivakumar.