Nearly 5,000 Covid deaths in Lucknow since 2020, reveal compensation applications

LUCKNOW: Nearly 5,000 people died of Covid-19 in Lucknow alone since the onset of pandemic in March 2020, according to official figures compiled during the process of handing out compensation to the families of Covid-19 victims.

Till now, the government's Covid portal claimed that 2,694 patients had died in Lucknow since 2020.

However, after the Supreme Court directed that Rs 50,000 compensation each should be provided to the families of Covid-19 victims from the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF), the

Covid Death Ascertaining Committee

(CDAC) received nearly 5,000 applications.

Of these, 4,789 families have been paid the total amount of around Rs 24 crore which includes 2,694 victims on the Covid portal. The cumulative deaths have now been counted as additional Covid death toll.

"We have given ex gratia of Rs 50,000 to 4,789 people who died due to coronavirus infection. Total amount of Rs 23.94 crore has been spent till now. This is the official Covid death toll. At least 154 more applications have been received since April 1 which are being verified. The total death toll will be around 5,000," said nodal officer in charge and member of CDAC, additional district magistrate (ADM), finance, Bipin Kumar. The toll includes patients who died in hospital during Covid treatment and those who passed away in home isolation. CDAC verified Covid death compensation claims of applicants through documents, including but not limited to Covid positive test report, treatment summary or documentation from Covid hospital, cause of death as Covid on death certificate or any other document or report such as CT-scan to prove coronavirus infection.

Earlier, deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak had apprised the state assembly that around 18,359 Covid deaths had been added to the state's Covid toll of 23,512 deaths, after compensation claims were verified. This means that around 41,871 people died of Covid in UP since March 2020.

In an investigation conducted earlier by TOI, it was found that death certificates issued in Lucknow in May-June 2021 (peak of the second wave of coronavirus pandemic) were at least 3-4 times higher than the death certificates issued in the same months in 2019 (before pandemic).

As per

Civil Registration Portal

(CRS), 3,183 death certificates were issued in May 2019. However, 11,390 death certificates were issued in 2021.

CRS also revealed that in June 2021, 3,144 death certificates were issued but the figure went up to 10,100 in June 2021 during the second wave.

CDAC was formed in October 2021, a year after the apex court directed the state government to compensate those who lost their family members to Covid-19.