Himanta refutes allegation of spending ₹30,000 per COVID patient as baseless

August 13: Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) President Ripun Bora levelled allegation of rampant corruption in the name of Covid management in Assam. He said that a bucket is procured at @ ₹850 and a mug @ ₹300 for quarantine centres. Further, the Congess leader also alleged that Assam govt took ₹300 crore loan from World Bank and the govt is spending ₹30,000 for each corona patient. Noted journalist Atanu Bhuyan in a tweet mentioned these allegations heaped upon the state government and also tagged State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in his tweets. 

Responding to the tweets, Himanta Biswa Sarma replied, “Government of Assam has not taken even Rs 1/ so far from the world bank. We are spending only Rs 500 per patient and in case of diabetic patient Rs 600 per patient for food. For necessary utensil including bucket etc, we provide only Rs 500/ which include other essential items.”

A total of 68,999 persons were infected with novel coronavirus in Assam till 12 August, out of which, 21,626 are active cases. Further, 47,209 patients got cured in the state and were subsequently discharged. The state have witnessed 161 COVID-19 deaths so far.