A petition has been filed in the Orissa High Court seeking a high-level independent audit of Covid deaths in the state. Along with records of all Covid-19 deaths in the state, the petition filed by senior advocate Nishikant Mishra also seeks details on Covid testing and vaccination in rural areas of Odisha.

In his petition, Nishikant has alleged discrepancies in the Covid fatality data provided by district-level authorities and the state government’s health department.

He has also cited media reports on the disparity in deaths between actual cremations performed in accordance with Covid protocol and the district administration’s tally, which was significantly lower.

Social activist Rabi Das told India Today that Covid-19 death audit should be conducted in Odisha, and claimed that several deaths in rural areas were not even being recorded.

“One thing is certain that more people have died than the government’s records indicate. Based on what I’ve heard from my village, it could be three to four times what the government records show,” said Rabi Das.

Speaking to India Today, Gajendra Kabat, a relative of the deceased Kuntala Singh, said the patient was transferred to Balasore Covid hospital on May 18 after developing Covid-19 symptoms and was later transferred to Aditya Aswini Covid hospital in Cuttack after her condition deteriorated. She was declared dead after almost 22 days due to post Covid-19 complications. However, the hospital administration mentioned pneumonia as the cause of death, not Covid-19.

On testing and vaccination

“We have earnestly requested the Supreme Court to direct the government to expand the state’s testing capabilities and to begin rapid vaccination in order to save lives,” the petitioner continued.

“We highlighted before the High Court that despite the state government’s grand claims, only 1.3 crore people have been tested for Covid-19, which is far too less. The situation is even worse in rural areas of the state, where testing is almost non-existent,” Nishkant told reporters.

“The central government’s current efforts to expedite vaccination are limited. In Bhubaneswar, we are seeing that nearly 50 per cent of eligible people are being vaccinated,” Rabi Das added.