TDP calls Andhra Pradesh govt's COVID funeral expenses a lie, accuses them of 'betrayal'

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) National General Secretary Nara Lokesh on Saturday launched a scathing attack at YSRCP Government for not implementing its promise with respect to funeral expenses for COVID patients and leaving the common people to their fate. This comes after an Australia-based NRI was fleeced by ambulance staff while he was mourning the death of his father back home in Kurnool. Additionally, Rs 85,000 was illegally collected towards funeral expenses.

Nara Lokesh asked the government to clarify what happened to its promise of providing Rs 15,000 for funeral expenses for bodies infected with the coronavirus.

"Right from the beginning, the YSRCP regime was living by telling lies and committing betrayals. It was remaining totally insensitive to the woes and travails of the common people in the face of COVID threat," he said.

Further alleging that the ambulance staff fleeced money, the TDP leader said,

"It may be recalled that K Kranthi Kiran, an NRI from Melbourne, put out a selfie video of how he was cheated. It all began after Kranthi Kiran's father fell sick in Kurnool a few days ago. The ambulance arrived to pick him up. But on the way to the hospital, the NRI's father passed away. Then, the ambulance staff began a high drama saying that the death was due to COVID-19."

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Coronavirus in Andhra Pradesh

After a 13-day gap, Andhra Pradesh once again reported over 10,000 new coronavirus cases in a day, pushing the tally to 3,45,216 on Saturday. With four districts reporting cases in excess of one thousand each, the state registered 10,276 fresh Covid-19 infections. Also, 97 more fatalities were reported in 24 hours ending 9 am on Saturday, taking the death toll to 3,189.

The latest bulletin said 8,593 coronavirus patients were discharged from hospitals after they got cured. The state now has 89,389 active cases after a total of 2,52,638 people got cured. The infection positivity rate climbed further up to 10.82 per cent after a total of 31,91,326 tests were conducted so fa

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(With Inputs from ANI)