CHARIKAR (SW) – Credible sources told Salam Watandar officials are not sharing the correct death toll with public from the devastating floods in Parwan province.
According to the well-placed sources, there is a difference of ten to twelve deaths between the figures shared with the public and the exact toll. According to the sources, as per rule, the list of victims be prepared by the nursing staff and approved by the public hospital director.
However, it is believed the director of civil hospital in Parwan province took away this authority from the nursing staff and tasked the administrative manager for it. The sources said they have been targeted in this way for criticizing the ‘State Builder’ electoral team by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani during presidential elections. They charged the public hospital head for tempering with the death toll from a suicide attack on an electoral rally of the State Builders last year.
Mohammad Sadiq, director of nursing at the Civil Hospital in Parwan province, said that although listing the number of victims was their responsibility, but after the floods in the city of Charikar, the hospital manager took over. Safiullah Varasteh, director of public health in Parwan province, did not comment on the accuracy of the allegations. He added that the charge needs further investigation.
Dr. Mohammad Shafi Mushfeq, head of the Parwan civil society, expressed concerns about it, and demanded relevant officials should execute this task.
The provincial governor Fazluddin Ayar said in this connection that there is a possibility that some people may seek to benefit from the situation, but the mechanism in place will soon expose anyone striving for such benefits. Ayar said that no individual or group will be allowed to take advantage of this situation.
Rejecting the allegations, Dr. Abdul Qasim Sangin, director of the Civil Hospital in Parwan province, told Salam Watandar that representatives of the intelligence and security organs were present in all the work of this institution, especially during the registration of corpses, and the corpses were placed in coffins after registration.
The death toll from floods surged to 116 dead and 128 injured by Friday, he said.
The claims about dubious casualty figures have emerged as the government has set aside AFN 50,000 in aid for each victim of last week's devastating floods.
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