Bhalla hits out at centre’s ‘unpreparedness’ amid Covid-19 second wave

Jammu: Former Minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla amidst all-round criticism of the Centre’s alleged unpreparedness to contain what is now almost a tidal wave of fresh Covid-19 cases hit out at the Narendra Modi-led Centre for restricting the autonomy of the states at a time when they are required to take emergency measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus. “India’s first case of COVID-19 was detected on 30-01-2020. India’s first vaccine shot was administered on 16-01-2021. Between the two dates, and thereafter, there is a saga of tragedy, incompetence and colossal mismanagement,” he said . What transpired was the gross unpreparedness and avoidable adhocism on part of the Modi government in foreseeing, evaluating and managing the crisis,” he alleged . He added that the constructive suggestions of the opposition are met with attacks by none other than union ministers.  No Thinking, No Planning”, attacking the Centre of stoking emotions to deal with the pandemic but refraining from taking concrete steps to handle the crisis.At every step, the central government’s response was totally inadequate. Worse, the central government did not release sufficient funds to the state governments to fight the worst medical emergency that the country had faced. Under the circumstances, cash-strapped state governments did their best to mobilise doctors, nurses, health workers, testing kits, hospital beds, ventilators, oxygen cylinders, etc., to fight the pandemic.He alleged that the Centre had failed to rapidly scale up the production and supply of the two approved vaccines in India by providing sufficient funds and other concessions.

Demanding that as a preliminary measure, Bhalla said that the Centre should free “all equipments, instruments, medicines and support required to prevent and treat Covid-19” of the mandatory 12% GST imposition.  “Even basic equipment like Oxymeters and life saving critical equipment like ventilators are subjected to 20% GST. In the current state of affairs, this is inhuman and untenable,”  he said. The current COVID-19 wave is worrying and people need to take all precautions and follow protocols, Bhalla said.In the past one year, speedy action was not taken to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in a planned manner. The fight was not fought with joint efforts of everyone.  “Now, the novel coronavirus has returned after changing its form, due to which the situation has become grim. Now, we have to take benefit of our past experience, and soon control the phase-2 of COVID-19, so that its spread can be curtailed. It is good that anti-COVID vaccine is available now, and the vaccination has to be effectively done,” Bhalla said.

Bhalla further claimed that government is mostly talking about ‘stringent measures’, ‘saving lives from COVID-19’, all in such terms that only scholars with the government at the helm of affairs can speak or understand. People understand differently. For example, people understand that it is beyond the capacity of the government to provide vaccines to all, which the government tried to conceal by saying ‘vaccination isn’t open to all but only to those who need it”. People think, if there is “vaccine hesitancy”, provide the doses to those who are willing or want it. The government said the “aim is not to inculcate all those who want to get vaccinated”. Even then, shortages of vaccines were reported at several inoculation centres and there is also growing demand for it.People find faults with the vaccination drive plan, while the government said what it decided is final. People are at the government’s mercy, and the officials are highly opinionated and seem to not have time to see what is happening on the ground level. Since they don’t have clarity on the actual situation, they have been using the vague terms.The whole government narrative is to show that it is doing everything to save live of the people. Concerns are never categorically stated in all dimensions, but they expect people to understand everything along with their vague words as “considering”, “seriously considering” or “decided” of doing something, added Bhalla.

Bhalla observed that words have different meanings at the government level and on ground level. The audacity of the government can be seen in its statement that everybody is not required to be tested when people pointed out that the government has drastically reduced even testing which ultimately hampered tracking and treating patients. People could not understand the government narrative ‘scientifically’ but knew this much that whenever testing would peak up again, the number of patients would rise sharply. Testing was highest in mid-September, which got reduced to its lowest in February, when the new COVID-19 wave began to break all records in daily infection since the lockdown imposed on March 24, 2020.The government’s narrative puts all the blame on the public that they were not following the advisory on Covid appropriate behaviour, while it was government inaction and permission for gatherings without Covid appropriate behaviour that’s really responsible. In many cases, even ministers up to the level of Prime Minister were found addressing such reckless gatherings.

Bhalla further remarked that now when the situation is going from bad to worse, the government has said that the next four weeks are most crucial. The Union government has issued directions to the state government for enforcing stringent measures. Several cities in the country are now under night curfews and weekend lockdown which the Union government has said do not work. Educational institutions, restaurants, hotels, malls, market, parks, cinema halls, and several other public places have been closed. Transportations and logistics have been severely restricted affecting the movement of people and goods. It is what we have seen during lockdown, without the word “lockdown” which would have some ethical pressure on the government, for if it locks a person down, then his survival is government’s responsibility.Nobody exactly knows the sufferings of the common people, especially the migrant workers, in this second wave of COVID-19, and locking up the economy one by one. What are then the means of their survival? Especially when they have already spent all their savings to survive the first wave of COVID-19? Millions of migrant labour had left their places of work to head home last year, a majority on foot before skeleton transport service were restored. Hundreds of them had lost their lives while returning home. Many of them have lost their jobs permanently.

Among the big things about which the government has been telling us, the measures about the means of survival of people in general, and the migrant labours in particular is absent. People are not being told how they can survive during the relocking of the economy, and how the government is there to help them in their needs. We have only vague assurances of ‘government help’ and ‘protection’ flowing from the top downwards, which never reaches the majority of the people on the ground level. Migrant workers are again without jobs and without help wherever the economy has been relocked.The new wave is now over two months old. Why then is there such a horrible unpreparedness on the part of the government? Lockdown is as painful as in any other name. The immediate task is saving lives medically, and also through providing means of sustaining lives economically. Both require provisions in clear terms along with opportunity to access them, maintained Bhalla.