The AAP today slammed the Sawant Sarkar, Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane and also the GMC Dean after a damning report by a 3 member committee headed by IIT Goa Director BK Mishra came out in the media that squarely blamed them for the man made oxygen crisis in Goa during the second wave. The report made it very clear that the GMC authorities did not raise the issue of Oxygen shortage at a timely manner and even ignored GARD’s warnings on the same. Due to this negligence many Goenkars lost their lives during the dark hours between 2 am to 4 am. AAP demands the resignation of the CM, Health Minister and the GMC dean and bringing this report in the public domain.
GMC failed to act on the shortage on time creating a cascading effect that caused a massive shortage of Oxygen in the state. The entire responsibility rests on Chief Minister, Health Minister and the GMC Dean. The Goa Association Resident Doctors (GARD) in May 2020 had written a letter to the GMC Dean informing about the shortage of oxygen. In 19 days of May 2020 1000 people lost their lives due to Covid and it could have been averted if the Govt had acted upon the memorandum submitted by GARD on 1st May 2020. But no action was taken. Authorities refused to study and anticipate oxygen needs and anticipate Covid patient’s need of oxygen. The government could have made a provision of oxygen, but the government was totally negligent and the GMC Dean as well failed his duty. The Govt had brought a single supplier M/S Scoop to supply oxygen all over Goa who then stopped providing Oxygen to all hospitals apart from GMC causing a sever shortage. Why was a single supplier only shortlisted for the entire state’s infrastructure? The Govt even then failed to react and fix things. Unfortunately, the government took it for granted and Goans paid with their lives.
Goenkars were left to deal with this crisis by themselves on their own devices. It was during these Dark Hours of GMC from 2-4a.m, that alert citizens, sent SOS messages, only after that, things started moving. Many Goenkars a lot of them old people passed away due to the shortage of oxygen. The Government who was supposed to help totally failed in their duty as there was shortage of oxygen for beds and no ventilators available. The responsibility of these deaths rests on the Chief Minister, Health Minister and GMC Dean, it was their duty to provide oxygen to the people.
Ideally there should have been multiple supplier toprovide Oxygen. But here there was only one supplier ‘Scoop Industries’. Rahul Mhambre questioned the BJP on this “ Why was there only one supplier? What was the connection between the GMC Dean that there was only one supplier. Why no alternate supplier? Where there no other vendors? Knowing that there will be an increase in Covid cases, there would be also a need for increase in oxygen. Whywas the BJP so negligent? The BJP Government is used to playing with people’s life, they are not bothered. When they should have taken action, they sat back and watched Goenkars die!”
AAP Goa Convenor Rahul Mhambre who had also filed a public interest litigation in Goa bench of the Bombay HC in his personal capacity of the difficulties faced by people of Goa due to complete neglect by govt of infrastructure at GMC, pointed out that the assessment of oxygen too was not done by the authorities, no precautions were taken. “I want to ask 3 questions to the CM, the Health Minister and the GMC dean. Question 1: Why no action was taken when the GARD informed there was a lack of oxygen on 1st May,2020? Question 2 Why did GMC fail in the assessment of Oxygen supply and where was the Govt? And lastly why was there only one supplier of Oxygen? Why was Scoop Industries the only preferred supplier?” asked Mhambre. AAP asked what precautions are taken by Sawant to avert the third wave that is expected by medical experts. The surge is crowds now is similar to what we say during the start of the second wave. Which agency is monitoring the 50% regulated capacity on Casino. Is the govt of Sawant and BJP serious enough to safeguard the lives of Goans even now.
