Union minister Santosh Gangwar has complained to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath about Covid-19 management in Bareilly, saying officials don’t take calls and government health centres send back patients for "referrals" from the district hospital.

In a letter to the CM of the BJP-run state, the Union Labour minister has also complained about the "big shortage" of empty oxygen cylinders and the high prices of medical equipment in his Lok Sabha constituency.

The letter was handed over to Adityanath during his visit to Bareilly on Saturday. "There are cases in which the patient despite taking a referral and going to the government hospital is asked to go back to the district hospital and get the referral done again," the Union minister was quoted as saying by PTI.