5 years on, relatives of victims of Karnataka hospital tragedy during Covid get govt jobs

“My father was in the hospital for five days before he died. Doctors did not inform us after the deaths as they feared that the hospital would be attacked,” he said.

When he, along with Galipura Mahesh, a former Chamarajanagar city councillor, and others, went inside the hospital to check, they found bodies stacked atop one another. “Maybe they had already sent some bodies by ambulance to hide the true count of victims,” he contended.

After the dust settled, an inquiry commission pegged the number of dead at 36, far more than what the Government had claimed soon after the tragedy.

The families of the victims also met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, where they were assured of jobs if the Congress came to power in the state.

“We had expected an announcement as soon as the Congress came to power since the party had promised us jobs even in its manifesto,” said Manjunath, who was formerly a teacher at a private school.

On Tuesday, he was handed an appointment letter as a second division assistant (SDA) at the Chamarajanagar Medical College.

Mahesh said that family members with SSLC qualifications were given Group D jobs, and others were hired as SDAs. Apart from Manjunath, 20 others will receive appointment letters based on their educational qualifications.

While two people have rejected jobs, the appointment of other people is delayed due to some technical reasons, he said, noting that 31 families were finalised by the Government to receive jobs.

Mahesh recalled that he, along with his colleagues from the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), helped organise the victims.

“We even met the Karnataka governor, chief minister, and other leaders over it,” he said.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah distributed appointment letters among the beneficiaries at an event held at Chamarajanagar.