This story is from December 27, 2013

NEW DELHI: The Uttar Pradesh principal secretary (home) Anil Gupta on Friday made a controversial statement that people do not die of cold.

"Children have died of pneumonia, not of cold. Nobody can die of cold. If people died of cold, nobody would have been alive in Siberia," Gupta said while commenting on relief camp deaths.

Criticizing the UP bureaucrat's remark, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted: "Can't die of the cold"!!!! Send him out in a few less clothes & let's see if he isn't singing a different tune pretty damn quick.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday admitted that 34 children — all below 12 years — died at the relief camps in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts between September 7 and December 20, 2013.

Initially the state government had outrightly denied any deaths at any of the camps in Muzaffarnagar and had even submitted an affidavit before the Supreme Court with similar claims. However, following sustained media campaigns, the court asked the UP government to verify the facts. Thereafter, the state government formed a panel on December 13, 2013 to look into the specifics. The committee was headed by the Commissioner, Meerut Division, Manjit Singh. The district magistrates and chief medical officers of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli were nominated as its members. The committee initially confirmed the death of 11 children. The same committee has now confirmed that 34 children had died at the camps.

