Hyderabad: "Let the people know the facts and the country will be safe," these words from Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, reflect the need for transparency and accountability. More importantly, they stress upon people's right for information.
In order to tackle any national crisis, the government must be ready with reliable information. Unfortunately, the Centre lacks vital facts about the pandemic that has infected 53,00,000 and killed over 80,000. Though the government claimed of having saved 29,00,000 lives by announcing an early lockdown; there are no records about the number of frontline warriors who died in the process. In fact, the government has no data about the migrant workers who walked hundreds of kilometres to reach their hometowns.
Further, the Centre also knows nothing about the innumerable small and medium-scale workers who lost employment, thanks to the impulsive lockdown. So, without data and figures, what exactly have the official machineries been doing since the beginning of the lockdown?
When the COVID-19 outbreak began, Prime Minister Modi asked the entire country to express solidarity with doctors, paramedical staff, police force and sanitation workers. The nation happily obliged. In fact, the citizens welcomed the Centre's move to shower flower petals at hospitals to honour the corona warriors. We lauded the provision of health insurance for corona martyrs.
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However, it is heartbreaking to learn that hundreds of doctors have succumbed to the deadly disease while treating the patients. When asked about the number of such healthcare martyrs, the government responded that there was no such data at the central level. Only the details of those who sought help through Garib Kalyan Yojana were registered.
In the first week of August, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) wrote a letter detailing the deaths of 196 doctors to the Prime Minister. While there was no response from the PMO's end, the death toll later rose to 382. According to the IMA database, 8 per cent of government and 15 per cent of private doctors among the infected, died of COVID-19.
With the central guidelines confirming only N95 masks and hand gloves as personal protection for doctors; the IMA estimated that doctors who treated coronavirus patients accounted for 40 per cent of these deaths. Of the 2,238 allopathy doctors infected with the virus, 382 have lost their lives. This number (17.06) is 10 times the national average death rate (1.7).
Statistics revealed that the majority of these doctors were highly experienced general physicians. In some cases, physicians under the age of 35 also succumbed to the virus. Karnataka, which is reeling under shortage of doctors, is preparing final year medical students for COVID duties. Instead of acknowledging and honouring the healthcare staff's sacrifices, the government is shrugging off the facts.
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Earlier this month, Amnesty International reported that 7,000 healthcare workers worldwide died of coronavirus. Of these, 573 deaths are from India alone. While several independent organizations are trying to collate as much data as possible; what are the Union Ministries designated to implement welfare schemes doing all this while?
India is the only country that enforced a total lockdown. The World Bank reports revealed that the nationwide lockdown that began on March 24, destroyed the livelihoods of 4 crore interstate migrant workers. The Ministry of Labour and Employment is blissfully unaware of the number of guest workers who got affected by the pandemic. Since there are no details, there has been no assistance whatsoever.
The Centre claims to have transported 63 lakh workers in 4,611 special trains to their hometowns. But it paid no heed to their plights or deaths. The central government did not even bother to take a second look at the miseries the lockdown ensued for the crores of daily wagers.
The micro, small and medium scale enterprises sector, the lifeline of the national economy, has collapsed due to the pandemic. Lakhs of workers have lost their jobs. The Centre has proudly declared that no survey was conducted about the livelihood loss. The workers have not benefited at all from the prestigious Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
To restore normalcy post COVID, this kind of take it easy attitude must be done away with. To know the origins of the socioeconomic mayhem and to find a suitable solution to support the families of the victims, the Centre must have a clear set of data and facts. But then, should the government be reminded of its duties?
