The reports appearing in a section of media over the number of infant deaths in SVR Ruiya Hospital in Tirupati have caused a lot of alarm in the public and uproar in the political circles.

However, inquiries revealed that the media reports were nothing but exaggeration and to say more bluntly, the reports were nothing but plants by a section of media persons who were trying to blackmail the local authorities over the allotment of house sites for journalists.

According to sources, some journalists in Tirupati representing influential media houses have demanded for allocation of plots of bigger size, compared to the normal house sites allotted by the district administration. These journalists have reportedly approached local MP Chinta Mohan to influence the district administration, but the MP bluntly rejected their demand. In a bid to blackmail the MP, these select reporters have exaggerated the latest infant deaths in the Ruiya hospital, stating that the local MP was not bothered to attend to the problems of the hospital.

The fact is that on any normal day, four to five infants, mostly prematurely-born babies, die in this hospital, especially because most of the cases are brought here in critical condition.

“So, the figure of 600 deaths in a span of eight months is no big deal, as it is normal to see four to five children dying every day. But this is being projected as a very high figure and the media is creating panic,” sources said.