Udupi, August 15: Residents of Gerukatte in Perampalli in the city staged a protest keeping the body of a dalit youth who died of alleged negligence of the district government hospital authorities, in front of his house on Wednesday.

The victim is identified as Bhaskar (36), son of Narsi and late Gopal of Gerukatte. Bhaskar who was suffering from kidney problem, was got treatment from the hospital two days ago. But the doctor said that his health problem was not serious and treated him. But yesterday, the problem was aggravated and suddenly, he was admitted to the hospital’, said Nagaraj, brother of Bhaskar.

“The doctors said that he was referred to Wenlock hospital of Mangaluru as there was no facility for the treatment at the district hospital. Followed by their advice, they have shifted him to Wenlock hospital. There also, they did not get bed at the ICU and the doctors asked us to take him to a private hospital. Later, he died on the way to Manipal hospital”, he said.

Demand for compensation

Family members and local people led by Ambalpady Umesh of Dalit Sangharsha Samithi staged a protest keeping the body in front of the deceased house, demanding suitable compensation to the family of the victim and required facilities at the Udupi district hospital.

‘The deputy commissioner should conduct an enquiry into the negligence of the district hospital. Such problem should not happen to any others in future. Like Wenlock hospital, all facilities should be provided at the district hospital. This would ensure justice to the death of Bhaskar and poor people would be benefited, said Uday Kumar.  

Bhaskar died because he did not get treatment in time at the district hospital. Instead of advising the family members to take him to Manipal hospital, the doctors have asked them to take him to Mangaluru hospital which is far away from Udupi, he said.

This is second death in two years

Family members of the deceased Bhaskar alleged that two years ago, his brother Harish (32), who was suffering from same problem, was also died due to the negligence of the doctors. Now, Bhaskar complained of the same problem, they have tried to get him good treatment and appealed the deputy commissioner on August 14 to ensure suitable treatment.

Within two years, the poor family has lost two members. Among seven children, three members are there and they are living in a thatched hut. The government should immediately disburse the compensation to the poor family, the local people demanded.

 

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Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.

The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.

"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.

Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.

The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."

Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.

"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.

Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.

He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.

"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.