With Pune having the highest number of active COVID-19 cases in the country and a questionable medical infrastructure to treat its patients, BJP MLA Siddharth Shirole has warned Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government that if the 'failures' remain unaddressed, the citizens 'will take to the streets'.
Shirole took to Twitter on Saturday and said that the MVA has betrayed the citizens of Pune. "Even after 6 months, they have failed to build a COVID-19 medical infrastructure that can save lives of critical patients. The launch of Jumbo Hospitals can only be called as deception," he said.
The BJP MLA said that Rs 200 crore were spent on the Jumbo Hospitals. However, he said, they are "woefully understaffed, untrained and reek of impropriety & corruption".
"Such is the antipathy & insensitivity of the #MVA Government towards Pune, that even after 5 days of bringing the mismanagement to notice, not one cabinet minister has made an effort to physically review the situation & hold accountable those responsible for this failure," Shirole tweeted.
He added that for the past six months Punekars have shown immense restraint & patience towards the State Govt. "@BJP4Maharashtra has been a responsible opposition,but I assure the leadership of the MVA that if the failures remain unaddressed, we the citizens of #Pune WILL TAKE TO THE STREETS," he said.
The BJP leader's criticism comes after complaints of a lack of proper medical infrastructure in the city.
On Wednesday, a journalist in the city died after did not get a cardiac ambulance from the city's Jumbo COVID Centre to a hospital barely 7 km away. His family has also alleged lack of care at COVID centre. The journalist's sister said, "There's chaos, doctors aren't trained. They made centres worth crores but couldn't arrange cardiac ambulance to shift him, that's why he died."
On Thursday, former Pune Mayor Dattatraya Ekbote died of COVID-19 at the Sassoon Hospital. Reportedly, he had contacted many hospitals but couldn't find a bed. A report further stated that he was not getting proper treatment and only after former corporator Meenakshi Dnyaneshwar Kadgi contacted Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and MP Girish Bapat, Ekbote received proper treatment.
Meanwhile, Pune district reported 3,447 new coronavirus cases on Friday, taking its COVID-19 count to 1,84,516, a health official said.
The death toll reached 4,416 with 83 new fatalities, he added.
"Of the 3,447 cases, 1,617 are in Pune Municipal Corporation limits, which now has 1,02,076 patients. However, 1,830 patients were also discharged from the hospitals.
"With 1,005 new cases the count in Pimpri Chinchwad now stands at 53,289," he added.
