Surat: Two Right to Information (RTI) applications filed by a city resident have revealed that a committee set up by Gujarat govt in 2023 to investigate the rise in sudden heart attack deaths among youth in the post-Covid period has not yet reached any conclusion. The RTI responses also stated that the government does not maintain specific data on such deaths.The applications were filed by Ramesh Jilariya, a resident of Puna Gam area and president of the Diamond Worker Union Gujarat (DWUG). Concerned by the increasing number of sudden deaths among apparently healthy young individuals, he sought information on the causes and extent of these incidents.“In the post-Covid period, many young people suddenly died while carrying out their normal daily activities. It is a matter of concern for everyone, which is why I sought information on the total number of such deaths,” Jilariya said.One of the RTI applications requested year-wise data on heart attack deaths between 2021 and 2024. However, the health department responded that such information is not maintained in such a format and would require verification from individual records.Jilariya also sought details about the committee constituted on Oct 23, 2023, at the UN Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre in Ahmedabad to investigate the increase in heart attack cases. The committee was announced by the then Gujarat health minister following widespread public concern.According to the RTI reply, the committee has not yet arrived at any decision, with its findings still listed as “undecided,” raising serious questions about the progress of the investigation.In addition, Jilariya requested data on sudden deaths in Surat during the post-Covid years, but no information was provided.Jilariya said that the govt had initially announced that post-mortem examinations would be conducted to determine the causes of these sudden deaths. “Till now, the findings of those post-mortem reports have not been made public, leaving people without answers about why so many individuals died suddenly,“ he added.
