After bed-blocking racket expose, BBMP reveals over 3000 beds vacant in Bengaluru

According to the BBMP website around 3210 beds are available in government hospitals of Bengaluru, following a bed-blocking racket being busted in the city.

Bangalore (Karnataka): The BBMP website shows that there are more than 3000 beds vacant as of Wednesday, in the wake of a bed-blocking racket being busted in the city. Websites that have been showing zero numbers on bed availability in the city's hospitals until yesterday are showing 3,210 beds as vacant today.

The case of bed-booking scam by the Covid War Room staff in the city's south zone was uncovered yesterday. Following the allegations of a bed-blocking racket in the South Zone War Room, 17 contract workers have been fired.

A total of 1,693 beds are vacant in Government Medical Colleges, Government Hospitals and Private Hospitals in the city. In addition, 1,517 beds are vacant in Covid Care Centers, with the oxygen availability at 10 percent. In 127 private hospitals, 29 ICU and 13 ventilator beds are available under government quota.

Bengaluru South zone MP Tejasvi Surya and Bommanahalli MLA Satish Reddy, Basavanagudi MLA Ravi Subramanya and Chikpet MLA Uday Garudachar had raised allegations of a bed-blocking racket in Bangalore city.

They alleged that "The Bangalore city has not run out of hospital beds to treat COVID-19 patients and that an artificial scarcity of beds was created by corrupt officials of the BBMP Covid War Room and their agents."

"I have exposed the corruption of the Karnataka BJP govt many times since the pandemic started along with documents. I challenge Tejasvi Surya to urge Karnataka CM to initiate an investigation on all matters alleged by you as well as our party. Let the guilty be punished," Siddaramaiah, the Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Legislative Assembly said.