Fake News on masks’ purchase issue: Says BJD

Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) spokesperson Dr Sasmit Patra on Thursday has clarified that there was no irregularity in the purchase of masks.

In a press statement, he said that at no point of time the state government has overruled the guidelines of the Centre on purchase of masks and added that the state government has never crossed the stipulated price of Rs 16 for a piece of mask.

The BJD spokesperson regretted that opposition parties are politicizing the purchase of masks. He said the people of Odisha will never forgive those who are trying to spread fake news on the matter at a time when the people of the state are battling the dreaded coronavirus.

Dr Patra said the Centre had earlier fixed the price of 3-ply mask at Rs 10, but the supply of the masks at the stipulated price could not be done. Therefore, Centre again on March 24 fixed the price at Rs 16.

The BJD spokesperson said the state government has tried its best to provide masks and other essential equipment to the health officials and COVID warriors to protect themselves from the virus. The government took the decision to procure masks at a short notice to save the lives of people and officials engaged in battling the dreaded disease.

Dwelling upon the measures taken by Odisha government to protect the lives of people, Patra said that apart from ensuring the supply of masks and equipment, 6000 beds were made available in COVID hospitals for providing immediate service to the affected persons. He said the technical committee of the health department of Odisha had estimated that nearly five crore 3-ply masks are required for the state.

It is worthwhile to mention here that Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat, Karnataka, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu governments had purchased the masks at Rs 16, Rs 16, Rs 20, Rs 18.74, Rs 18.74 and Rs 15.96 respectively.

The BJD spokesperson said that by circulating fake news on the purchase of masks at this juncture will not deter the COVID warriors from their mission to banish coronavirus from the state.