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As the COVID surge wreaks havoc in India, the ground realities refuse to match with official data, specially on deaths. Local newspapers in Gujarat are making efforts to expose the ground reality of COVID-related deaths in the state, in direct contrast to the official numbers given by the state administration.
For most of these local newspapers, these ‘editorials’ are not limited to just one page. Instead, multiple pages are dedicated to this kind of reportage.
Daily condolences printed on local Gujarati newspapers are questioning the management of the COVID-19 pandemic and the data provided by the government on the casualties of the virus.
As mentioned, on 6 May, Saurashtra News published tributes for 238 people, which covered eight pages, in order to highlight the difference between the real number of COVID deaths and the figures provided by the government.
On Sunday, 9 May, the newspaper published condolence messages for 195 people, a stark rise from two months ago, when the figure was just 21.
Through extensive ground reporting, local Gujarati newspapers have highlighted the difference between ground and government data.
Some examples of this are as follows:
The reports culminated in a bench of Justices Vikramnath and Bhargav Karia of the Gujarat High Court taking cognisance and telling the Gujarat administration: "The situation is very different from what you are claiming. You are saying that everything is fine while in reality, the opposite is true."
On Sunday, 9 May, A Gujarat News headline read in Gujarati, "The Prime Minister is Busy With The 22-Thousand-Crores Central Vista Project." The subhead said, "When Indian citizens are dangling between life and deaths from COVID-19, our public servant has become a living dictator."
In another piece, a subhead stated, “Nero was playing the flute while Rome was burning, the 'fakir' is building a luxurious house of Rs 1,000 crore for himself while India burns from COVID.”
Meanwhile, Gujarat BJP President CR Patil had announced the distribution of 5,000 Remedesivir doses from the party office in Surat, while the state reeled from a shortage of the drug’s injections. On being questioned on the license of the injection stock, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said "I don't know, ask Patil."
Following this, local newspaper Divya Bhaskar printed the phone number of CR Patil on its front page on 11 April and wrote, "This number belongs to the ‘injection government’, CR Patil. If you are in need, all you have to do is call Patil, because upon being asked how he got hold of the injections, Chief Minister Rupani instructed to ask the BJP president.”
A discrepancy in the number of COVID deaths has long been witnessed in Gujarat, especially in the city of Surat. However, the Gujarat chief minister had said that he stands by the government figures released and stated that the “government is not hiding any COVID fatalities”.
As COVID-related deaths mount in the state, in order to expose the inaccuracy of government figures, some newspapers and local TV channels have even set up reporters outside crematoriums.
(With inputs from Quint Hindi)
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