BENGALURU: The Karnataka government on Thursday informed the High Court that it has decided to give Rs 2 lakh compensation for time being to each family of 24 victims of Chamarajanagar oxygen tragedy.
Advocate General Prabhuling K Navadagi made submission to this effect before the special division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Aravind Kumar.
Navadagi submitted that the government has decided to give Rs 2 lakh compensation to each family of 24 Covid patients who have died due to lack of oxygen at the government hospital in Chamarajanagar.
A total of 24 patients died on May 2 and 3 in Chamarajanagar district hospital due to shortage of oxygen.
Following the directions issued by the court, the committee, constituted by the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority and headed by former judge of High Court Justice AN Venugopala Gowda, submitted a report confirming the deaths due to shortage of oxygen.
Attributing the tragedy to the callousness of the district administration, the committee also recommended compensation to the families of victims.
Taking note of the recommendations of the committee, the court had directed the state government to take a stand on payment of compensation.
Accordingly, the Advocate General conveyed the decision of the government to the court and sought permission of the court to pay compensation.
Recording the submission of the Advocate General, the court directed the government to pay compensation immediately.
The court orally observed that whatever compensation the government wanted to pay should be paid immediately and court is not going to say now if that is adequate or not.
However, the court said that the it will look into the issue of deaths later when counsels of the petitioners submitted that the actual deaths are more than 24.
The Advocate General submitted that the actual deaths were 24 as per the report of the committee.