Puducherry, May 11 (PTI) Senior Congress leader and former Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Tuesday alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi had 'failed miserably' in handling the coronavirus pandemic with infections spreading across the country.

Shortage of medical equipment in hospitals, medicines for patients and other requirements had been taking a heavy toll of human lives, he said in a video address to the people of the union territory.

"The Prime Minister has failed miserably in management of the pandemic situation," he alleged.

Narayanasamy said the Centre should come to the help of the states.

He alleged that the Prime Minister was preoccupied with toppling non-BJP State governments and said "he has no time therefore to address the woes of coronavirus-hit people in the states."

He said as far as Puducherry was concerned, he was pained to see that no field work was being carried out by the authorities.

The former Chief Minister said hospitals in Puducherry were lacking adequate number of ventilators, oxygenated beds, medicines and other infrastructural facilities.

He also alleged that private hospitals were fleecing the poor and the consequent impact of such shortcomings was felt by the poor who were losing their kith and kin to the deadly virus.

Calling upon the authorities to intensify the current lockdown and adopt stringent measures to prevent people from venturing out unnecessarily, Narayanasamy said, "it is indeed a shame that Puducherry was third at the all-India level in the number of deaths due to Covid-19 per lakh population after Delhi and Goa."

The second wave of the pandemic "is ferocious and virulent and the youth in particular are falling prey to the virus," he added.

The senior Congress leader called for coordinated efforts by all departments to combat the pandemic by sensitising the people on the nature of pandemic socially, economically and demographically.

He also alleged that the coverage under the vaccination scheme was poor.

Of the total population of 14 lakh in the union territory only 2.18 lakh people have been inoculated.

"This should be increased manifold," he added.PTI Cor

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)