In fact, elections and the Kumbh became the mega super spreaders of covid 19. But the leadership slept and woke up as late as January 2021.
BK Singh
brij.singhht@gmail.com
Was it policy paralysis or failure to foresee the impending horrifying calamity that has claimed thousands of lives in just over a week across the country. Well, the answer is blowing in the wind.
Going by reports, the rulers and policy makers were well aware about the second wave of Covid 19 and the dark cloud that it would bring along with it. But they looked askance. This saw heads rolling. The manner in which Indians died, they certainly did not deserve it. Oxygen cylinders were empty, drugs like remdesivir injection and fabiflu tablets, touted to be life savers were off the shelf.
Near and dear ones, friends and neighbours begged doctors to save lives but they were not even available at one stage. The government did act, but it was too late.
USA, European nations and UK had better vision, they had ordered companies to manufacture the required vaccine in advance and had even funded them.
Our government knew vaccines were the key, yet it did not act. Serum Institute and Bharat Bio Tech had no financial support from the government. Serum institute reportedly used 2000 crore of its own money. Bill and Milinda Gates foundation extended help of another 20200 crore, said sources.
USA reportedly spent around six billion dollars to get hold of the vaccines. UK also spent a large sum to assure supply of vaccine. This is what successful leaders do, they think ahead.
However, in sharp contrast to this what happened here was acute shortage of an ordinary like thing these days- Oxygen the demand for which started escalating by the hour.
People started literally begging to get hold of an oxygen cylinder to increase the oxygen level of their patients. Within a short while, hospitals too started raising their hands demanding immediate supply of oxygen cylinders. Several, even declared they were left with a couple of hours of oxygen reserves. Family members of those on oxygen in home isolation grew restless.
Facebook and social media were flooded with people asking for help and as to how they could get an oxygen cylinder. There were reports that in a couple of hospitals doctors procrastinated the deaths by keeping eight patients alive on one single cylinder for some time.
Suddenly, there was a scramble for oxygen cylinders. Those waiting outside in ambulances lined up to 150 in big city like Ahemdabad started losing their breath. Many died as the oxygen ran out. Last but not the least those on oxygen showing hardly any improvement died in the absence of ventilators. Imagine the scene in a hospital with just one or two ventilators with more than a dozen Covid patients gasping for breath and waiting for their turn.
Among the dead include men of eminence in their field. Pandit Rajan Misra, a great Indian classical singer died in a Delhi hospital the other day because there were not enough ventilators to save his life. If this is the situation in national capital it is easy to fathom the fate of ordinary people living in far-flung smaller cities and towns. Villagers were left to fend for themselves with near total breakdown of administrative machinery.
Those responsible for saving lives I’ll treated patients and attendants.
In a huff several state governments declared setting up of new oxygen plants while tankers were airlifted to get oxygen from different plants in the country. This gesture itself speaks there was no planning in advance. Nothing of the like of disaster management.
And how could it be as the Indian leadership got more involved with holding elections in several states including the panchayat elections. They were seen addressing huge election rallies during the day without masks. The prime minister Narendra Modi reportedly addressed as many as twelve election rallies in Bihar, five in Kerala seven in Tamil Naidu, seven in Assam. and eighteen election rallies in Bengal to anyhow oust Mamta Bannerjee. This decision to address millions of people in jam packed grounds in a situation where the country was in the midst of covid hell cannot be termed as wise.
Government servants were pressed into service to oversee election process. Many of them infected in the course had to be isolated to save their lives. Is there anybody to explain the dire need to hold elections in a pandemic. It could easily have been put on hold in view of national emergency like situation. This resulted in the Madras high court accusing the election commission responsible for the death of so many citizens.
Nod was also given to hold the annual magh mela in the city of Prayagraj in UP, the yearly religious gathering in which over a million people assemble and rub shoulders during all the peak days in this month long festival. People from all over the country and abroad attend largest religious congregation every year in which a mass of humanity converges of the bank of the holy sangam. Had people in election rallies and religious festivals not come in close contact with each other thus spreading the corona virus across the country in its mist deadliest form.
In fact, elections and the kumbh became the mega super spreaders of covid 19. But the leadership slept and woke up as late as January 2021. Attendants of patients were seen wailing and running around and were ready to pay whatever price black marketeers demanded. A remdesivir injection was sold for Rs 25,000. But all were not lucky. Even with bundles of currency notes many could not find these drugs.
The much touted government slogan, ( “jab tak dawai nahi tab tak dilayi nahi”) no laxity till medicine was not available became a farce.
On one hand politicians patted their backs for imposing world’s biggest lockdown during the first wave that saw millions of migrant workers treading hundreds of kilometres on roads and highways to reach safety of their homes. Many of them died of disease and hunger while several just collapsed while walking. On the other hand, the country had hardly any production of the vaccine that was needed as an antidote every month.
Before the second wave in January this year India placed an order of just sixteen million dozes for its 1.3 billion people… It is left to the policy makers and guardians to answer why so late and why so meagre. Will other countries be able to supply our actual need when they have to first fulfill orders placed by others.
At the same time those at the helm of affairs in the country did not bother to unlock their own capacity to produce vaccine. That is how key aspect of covid 19 was dealt, say well informed sources.
As per newspaper reports the main cause of the spread of the second wave is B.1.167 ( Indian origin double mutant) which in many cases was not being destroyed by the current jab of anti covid vaccine and there was need to work on a vaccine which has the capacity to completely destroy the corona virus.
Indians are now suffering from parallel epidemic corona virus and fear after Dr VK Pal , member planning commission said time has come when masks have become necessary even in homes. With more than 1600 deaths per day and the number of pan India positive cases rising up to 3,00000, bodies lined up at burning Ghats that ran out of much needed wood. As per latest reports in Maharashtra they stuffed dead bodies in an ambulance and lit the pyre after keeping three bodies together to get rid of their forced responsibility. No wonder madras high court has squarely blamed the election commission responsible for the death of thousands of Indians who still deserved to live. The bench headed by CJ Justice Sanjeev Banerjee and Justice Sethil Kumar while accusing the election commission as irresponsible went on to add that a case of murder should be lodged against officials of this body.
Would any of us like to keep away from a positive person and prefer a negative person in our daily normal life ? This pandemic has nullified all efforts made by motivational speakers to bring about changes in the lives of people— of being positive and shunning negative.
(BK Singh is a Senior Journalist of Prayagraj). (The views expressed by the author are personal)
