The CPI-ML on Thursday released its provisional survey report on Covid-19 deaths in Bihar and claimed the toll during the second wave of the pandemic was around 2 lakh, about 20 times more than the figures provided by the state government.

The Left party presented a copy of the report to Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha and sought a discussion in the House over the issue that has affected the emotional, financial and social well-being of a large number of families. It also demanded a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each of the Covid-19 victims.

It also accused the state government of trying to hide the death figures in a bid to absolve itself of the failure in making basic preparation to tackle the pandemic, especially during the devastating second wave in April and May this year.

A CPI-ML team, including its politburo member Kavita Krishnan, had toured 14 out of 38 Bihar districts to ascertain the fatalities during the second wave of the pandemic.

However, the report presented data from only nine districts — Bhojpur, Patna (rural areas), Rohtas, Siwan, Darbhanga, West Champaran, Arwal, Kaimur and Aurangabad.

“Our report is a provisional one because we have been able to tabulate the data of nine districts only so far. We visited 1,693 villages in 66 blocks in these districts, collecting audio, video and documents as evidence on Covid-19 deaths. What has come up is very alarming,” CPI-ML state secretary Kunal told The Telegraph.

“There were 7,200 deaths in these villages in April and May, of whom 6,420 had Covid-19 symptoms. The rest died due to natural causes or other serious illnesses. The state has 534 blocks and over 45,000 villages. If we take the average figure from our survey, the pandemic toll would be around 2 lakh in the state — around 20 times more than the government figures,” Kunal, who goes by one name, added.

The report brought to light the situation in villages like Kulharia and Kolharampur in Bhojpur district, which recorded 59 and 45 Covid-19 deaths respectively, during the second wave.

Party leaders said they hurried to bring out the provisional report because the monsoon session of the Assembly, which commenced on July 26, will conclude on Friday (July 30). It was important that a move was made to discuss it in the House, they said.

The CPI-ML leaders also accused health minister and senior BJP leader Mangal Pandey of lying about the pandemic situation.

“The health minister is telling lies about the pandemic without any shame or remorse. He is telling that no deaths occurred in the state due to scarcity of oxygen, but our survey shows otherwise. There was no proper arrangement in most of the hospitals in Bihar to deal with the situation. The government is trying to brush the actual Covid-19 toll under the carpet. It is a crime that people will never forgive,” said CPI-ML legislature party leader Mehboob Alam.

According to government data, the state has reported 724,673 Covid-19 cases, including 9,639 deaths, so far.

The death toll had been questioned by various individuals and organisations who moved Patna High Court.

The high court also noticed inconsistencies in death figures reported by different government agencies and asked the government to conduct an audit. It led to an overnight revision of the toll from 5,478 to 9,429 in June — a 73 per cent jump in the numbers.

With the high court still hearing a bunch of cases pertaining to the Covid-19 toll and alleged lack of preparation by the state government, the CPI-ML is now preparing to submit its complete report before the court in the next few days, and request its directions.

There are also plans to use the video footage collected during the survey to make a documentary and release it on social media platforms.

“However, this survey is not just going to be academic work. We are going to turn it into a movement and force the state government to accept the truth. Hiding the toll figures is like disrespecting the dead,” Kunal told this newspaper.

The party is also helping the kin of Covid-19 victims fill up forms and submit them at the block headquarters to claim the Rs 4 lakh compensation announced by chief minister Nitish Kumar for each pandemic death.