K'taka Govt warns pvt hospitals of stringent action over holding back bodies until bills are cleared
Bengaluru, May 25: The Karnataka government has warned of stringent action against private hospitals including cancelling the licence if they hold back bodies of those who succumb to coronavirus till the bills are cleared by the relatives.
An order to this effect was passed by the Additional Chief Secretary of Health and Family Welfare, Jawaid Akhtar.
According to the order, the government has taken a serious view of reports of hospitals holding back bodies of those who died of COVID-19 till the bills are cleared by the kin.
The officer said under the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment Act, 2007, no hospital can refuse to hand over the body of the deceased to relatives after his/her passing away.
"The deputy commissioners of the districts have been directed to cancel the licence of the hospital and initiate appropriate action under the KPME Act-2007 if such instances come to light. Further, the district authorities have to report on a weekly basis about any such incident coming to light," Akhtar said in his order.
Sources in the health department said the step has been taken to stop private hospitals from harassing relatives and dumping bodies in the open as has been reported in some parts of the country.
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Cong performed better in Kerala, anti-incumbency trends influenced WB, TN: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the Congress had largely met or exceeded expectations in several States, even as results in some regions reflected shifting voter sentiments.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said the party accepted the mandate in Assam while performing better than anticipated in Kerala.
He also pointed to possible anti-incumbency trends influencing outcomes in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
“In Assam, we got the expected result, and we accept the people’s mandate. In Kerala, we have won more seats than expected. We anticipated around 76 to 80, but we have gone up to around 95,” Siddaramaiah said.
In West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, there may have been an anti-incumbency trend, and that could have influenced the results, he added.
Siddaramaiah also extended his congratulations to a new political entrant in Tamil Nadu, noting the emergence of a different electoral dynamic in the State.
“I congratulate the new entrant who has achieved success there,” he added.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said electoral outcomes in some States had diverged from the party’s internal assessments, reflecting evolving voter expectations.
“We expected a certain trend, but the results have been different. Political reading was wrong in some places,” he said.
“People were looking for change in some States, and that has been reflected in the results,” Shivakumar, who is also the Congress Karnataka unit president, said.
Referring to Kerala, he said the Congress-led alliance had benefited from public sentiment.
“There was already an expectation based on local body elections, and people had shown confidence in us. That has translated into a strong result,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.
On Tamil Nadu, he acknowledged that the scale of political shift had come as a surprise.
“We expected to secure around 30 to 40 per cent of the vote share, but such a major shift was not anticipated. It shows that voter expectations were different,” he said.
Shivakumar added that electoral outcomes underscored the need for better political assessment in future.
“We have to understand these changes carefully. Political reading cannot go wrong like this,” he said.
