BHOPAL: Jugglery in the death figures may come in the way of giving pension to the families who have lost breadwinners to Covid-19.†
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced that the government will give Rs 5,000 as a pension to families who have lost their wage earners to Covid-19.
Chouhan has also said the children of such families will get free education and free ration.
Such families, however, may not be able to get the benefits of the scheme, because many deaths have not been recorded.
The deaths which have occurred in the past month are not on government records.
The records of deaths, prepared by the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM), present an ambiguous picture about the number.
Not only that, the audit of deaths has been stopped after April. For that reason, the family members of the deceased may face difficulties in getting the benefits announced by the Chief Minister.
According to the state government records, nearly 6, 841 deaths from Covid-19 have occurred in the past year. It says there have been 830 deaths in the state capital.
Yet, the records of cremation grounds and those of the burial grounds say 10,000 people have lost their lives to Covid-19 in the past month.†
Those who have died belonged to city and rural areas in the state.
According to the records of the cremation ground and that of the burial ground in the state capital, 2,500 people died from Covid-19 in April and May.
Former chief minister Kamal Nath has welcomed Chouhanís announcement but said the figures of death should be correct.
Medical education minister Vishwas Sarang has said that eligible people will get the benefits of the scheme.
After Chouhanís announcement, the general administration department will seek from the collectors a list containing the names of those who have lost their breadwinners to Covid-19.†
Chouhan has asked the officials to implement the decision as early as possible.
