The Union Home Ministry has written to the West Bengal government
highlighting the concerns raised by the two Inter-Ministerial Central
Teams (IMCT) that were deployed to look into allegations of violation of
the nationwide lockdown in the State. In a letter to Chief Secretary
Rajiva Sinha dated May 6, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote: “The
response to COVID-19 in the State of West Bengal is characterised by a
very low rate of testing in proportion to the population and a very high
rate of mortality of 13.2 per cent… by far the highest for any State.”
Bhalla emphasised the need to increase random testing in crowded
clusters.
The letter also spoke of violations of the lockdown,
particularly in Kolkata and Howrah “by specific groups in specific
localities”; instances of overcrowding in bazaars, with poor sanitation;
free movement of people in large numbers without masks; people bathing
in rivers and playing cricket and football; and “serious” laxity in
enforcing lockdown measures in containment zones. “These are all
examples of poor supervision and implementation of crowd control
measures by the district authorities. Ensuring strict adherence to
social distancing norms and requisite hygiene and sanitation measures
are required to be taken by the State. Poor community awareness,
especially among labourers is also a cause of concern,” the letter
stated.
According
to the feedback received by the Home Ministry from the IMCTs, there
remain “gaps” in the surveillance and contact tracing of positive cases.
“The State has not furnished any data regarding the number of
households and individuals contacted and surveyed for signs of COVID
symptoms. Further, testing facilities need to be set up in hill
districts of North Bengal, as transporting the test samples to Siliguri
is challenging and causes delays,” the letter stated. It also pointed
out that indefinite delays in testing results have further affected the
contact tracing process and put patients under high risk.
The
Centre suggested that a public grievance redress mechanism for
COVID-related queries and grievances should be established in the State
to “equip public with right kind of information regarding the testing
protocols and actions to be taken thereafter”. The letter also drew
attention to the need to “pay attention to the well being of poor and
migrant labourers in accordance with the Government of India guidelines
and share information on the steps taken to mitigate their hardship…”.
The letter mentioned in particular the plight of the workers of the tea
gardens of Darjeeling and Siliguri and suggested that steps should be
taken to adequately compensate them as “reportedly lesser wages were
paid to them during the first phase of the lockdown”.
The Union
Home Secretary also said a “strong surveillance and testing regime
coupled with confidence building measures and effective use of Aarogya
Setu App could help in curtailing the spread of the virus”.
https://frontline.thehindu.com
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