The Allahabad High Court has come down heavily on the Uttar Pradesh government headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for its handling of the current pandemic. Mincing no words, the high court said that the death of COVID-19 patients for the non-availability of oxygen to hospitals were nothing less than a genocide.
The Allahabad High Court, according to Livelaw, said, “Death of Covid patients just for non supplying of oxygen to the hospitals is not less than a genocide by those who have been entrusted the task to ensure continuous procurement and supply chain of the liquid medical oxygen.”
The high court Bench comprising Justices Siddhartha Varma and Ajit Kumar asked, “How can we let our people die in this way when science is so advanced that even heart transplantation and brain surgery are taking place these days?”
The court also took a dim view of reports on the hoarding of oxygen cylinders and ‘harassment meted out to those poor citizens who were begging for an oxygen cylinder to save the life of their near and dear ones, both at the end of district administration and police administration.’
“Death of Covid patients just for non supplying of oxygen to the hospitals is not less than a genocide by those who have been entrusted the task to ensure continuous procurement and supply chain of the liquid medical oxygen”: #AllahabadHighCourt#COVIDManagement #UttarPradesh
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) May 4, 2021
It said, “News being viralled that one Sun Hospital, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, and another private hospital at Meerut had taken their hands off the admitted Covid patients only for the reason that oxygen supply was not made even after demand.”
Reacting to the news of deaths of polling agents and officers due to COVID-19 during the just-concluded local body polls in Uttar Pradesh, the court said, “We make it clear that any slackness on the part of the Election Commission on this issue will not be tolerated.” It added, “Even during the counting of polls of Gram Panchayat Elections of the State, People gathered in huge numbers at the counting centers and both the Election Officers and Police administration had completely failed to ensure the compliance of Covid guidelines.”