While the health minister of Rajasthan Raghu Sharma was busy posting photographs with Bollywood’s A-lister actor Salman Khan’s bodyguard, the whole health infrastructure in the state is crumbling into pieces. Here is a list of top officials responsible for the health infrastructure failing miserably in fulfilling their duties as the state desperately calls for help.
Dainik Bhaskar’s report on crumbling medical infrastructure in Rajasthan
Siddharth Mahajan, health secretary, is responsible for ensuring the availability of beds, ICUs beds, ventilators, and medicines in the state. As per reports, the private hospitals are only getting 10% of what they have sought in terms of oxygen from the state government. There is no ventilator available in Rajasthan University of Health Sciences (RUHS) for the last eight days, and beds are full for three days. The situation is the same in private hospitals. Either they do not have beds, or if there are beds, oxygen is scarce.
Rajaram Sharma, the drug controller, is responsible for ensuring the availability of medicine in the state. It is his responsibility to ensure drugs are not sold in black. However, reports suggest that he is unable to control the black marketing of essential medicines like Remdesivir. Recently, Udaipur Police arrested Dr Mohammad Abir for selling Remdesivir for Rs.35,000, which had an MRP of Rs.2,800.
Ravi Jain, state nodal officer, is responsible for oxygen supply in the state. Though he assured there is no shortage of life-saving gas in the state, the reports suggest otherwise. On Saturday, LK Lone Hospital sent an SOS message to the administration but only got half of the cylinders they asked for. The situation is so grim that the largest hospital in the state, SMS Hospital, almost ran out of oxygen. CT Surgery head, Dr Rajkumar Yadav said in a statement that they had to shift CT Surgery ward patients to CS ward amid a shortage of oxygen.
Alok Ranjan, RMSCL, is responsible for ensuring medicine supply in the state. Due to the surge in Covid-19 cases, the supply infrastructure is crumbling down, but reports suggest that he is not ready to answer any questions. The situation is similar to other officials responsible for the medicine availability. Remdesivir helpline is under four officials named Dinesh Kumar Taneja, Manish Kumar Modi, Komal Rupchandani and Naveen Sanghi. When Dainik Bhaskar contacted them, they all gave similar statements that they are here to stop black marketing of the drug and not for ensuring its supply.
Narottam Sharma, CMHO-First, is responsible for managing the health infrastructure in the capital. When he was asked about the imbalance in the demand and supply of the beds, ICU beds, medicines and oxygen, he clearly said that he could not do anything as everything was being operated by the higher officials.
The covid-19 situation in Rajasthan
Rajasthan is slowly gaining a higher position in Covid-19 cases. Currently, it is in the fifth position in terms of active instances. The state reported 15,355 new cases on April 25. 74 people lost their lives in the states due to Covid-19 related complications. The state has reported 4,98,628 cases out of while 3,67,485 have recovered while 3,527 have lost their lives.
Dr. D.K. Baluja, the MD at Jaipur Golden Hospital, has said during a television debate on Saturday that the Delhi Government made a false promise of delivering medical oxygen to them but the oxygen never came. As a consequence, multiple people died at the hospital the previous day, said the doctor.
Dr. Baluja said that the assurance was given in writing by an official of the Delhi Government. He said that the patients who died could have been saved. The doctor broke down on live television during the debate.
दिल्ली सरकार ने हमसे ऑक्सीजन देने का झूठा वादा किया, कल हमारे यहाँ केवल ऑक्सीजन ना होने से मरीज मर गए, इससे शर्मनाक दिन मैंने अपनी ज़िंदगी में नहीं देखा
He said that he has never seen such a tragic day in his life. Dr. Baluja said that after the assurance was given, no one was available to address their concerns despite repeated attempts to call officials for help.
Advocate Sachin Dutta, representing the Jaipur Golden Hospital, informed the Delhi High Court on Saturday that Delhi Government officials were unavailable for calls even as people were dying in the hospitals. He also said that if the Delhi Government had managed affairs properly, his client would not have been in such a predicament.
Arvind Kejriwal has come under severe criticism from all quarters for failing to secure medical oxygen supply to hospitals. The Delhi High Court rapped them and said that they had not made adequate efforts to collect the oxygen allocated to them. A central government officer said in Court that Delhi officials believe everything will be served to them on a platter while other states are working actively to supply the oxygen allocated to them to hospitals.
On April 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation in the 76th episode of Mann Ki Baat. PM Modi started his address by saying CoronaCorona is testing the nation’s patience and the limit of every citizen at enduring misery. He acknowledged that the second wave of Covid-19 had shaken the country.
He said, “After successfully confronting the first wave of Corona, the country was full of enthusiasm, full of self-confidence, but this storm has shaken the country.”
The Government is applying its entire might
PM Modi said that the experts from different sectors, including the Pharma industry, vaccine manufacturers, oxygen production and experts from the medical field, have put forth their suggestions to the Government. While emphasizing on the importance of expert and scientific advice, he added, “The Government of India is applying its entire might to give a fillip to the endeavours of State Governments. The State Governments too are trying their best to fulfil their responsibilities.”
Conversation with frontline workers
PM Modi’s address had conversations with the frontline workers, including doctors and health workers who are waging a colossal battle against Covid-19 infection in the country. During his conversation with Dr Shashank, Dean of the Indian College of Physicians, they discussed how this wave was different from the first wave of Covid-19. Dr Shashank said that the second wave is spreading rapidly compared to the first wave. “The good thing is that the recovery rate is higher and mortality rate pretty low,” he added.
तो जो हल्का covid है उसके लिए तो हम oxygen का monitoring करते हैं, pulse का monitoring करते है, बुखार का monitoring करते हैं, बुखार बढ़ जाता है तो कभी-कभी Paracetamol जैसी दवाई का इस्तेमाल करते हैं और अपने डॉक्टर से सम्पर्क करना चाहिये।
— Mann Ki Baat Updates मन की बात अपडेट्स (@mannkibaat) April 25, 2021
He added that there is no need to get scared of the mutation as such mutations keep happening. “We shall overcome this wave too. Covid has a 14 to 21 day’s timetable, in which we should avail of the Doctor’s advice,” he said.
On the issue of scarcity of medicines, Dr Shashank said that people start clinical treatment very late, believing that the illness will subside on its own, which is not correct. “If they abide by information provided by the government, they will not face these difficulties,” he added. He suggested monitoring oxygen, pulse and fever during mild cases and if the temperature rises, consult a doctor. In case of moderate or severe infection, it is essential to contact a doctor immediately.
He said that the people should stop running after Remdesivir as it has a limited role. It is only for those patients who are on oxygen in a hospital that too under the strict supervision of a doctor. He also suggested doing breathing exercises like Pranayam that will improve breathing.
PM Modi urged people to take vaccine
During a conversation with Dr Naveed Nazeer Shah, a professor at a Government Medical College in Srinagar, PM Modi discussed vaccine hesitancy among a certain group of people in the country. Dr Shah, who is administering Covid-19 patients in Srinagar, said that they noticed a lot of patients were asymptomatic. He added close to 90-95% of the patients recovered without in-medication. “if we maintain physical distance and avoid social gathering, we can carry on with our daily work and keep ourselves protected from this infection too,” he said.
— Mann Ki Baat Updates मन की बात अपडेट्स (@mannkibaat) April 25, 2021
Dr Shah said that we now have two made-in-India vaccines that are Covaccine and Covishield. Till now, over 15 lakh people in Jammu and Kashmir have got vaccine shots. There are misconceptions or myths about the vaccine that need to be addressed. He said, at his hospital, no side effects have been found in vaccines that have been administered. “Only things that are routinely associated with every vaccine – someone getting a fever, ache in the entire body or getting pain locally where the injection is applied- we have seen such side effects in all patients; we have not seen any gross adverse effect,” he added.
Follow whatever protocol is there, said sister Bhavana Dhruv
PM Modi talked to frontline worker sister Bhavana Dhruv at B R Ambedkar Medical College in Raipur. She said working while wearing PPE kits is not easy. She said the patients she has worked with are afraid of the name Covid. The nurses work day and night to provide them with a healthy environment to ease their fear.
She emphasized on early consultation with the Doctor. She said out of fear, people do not get their test done. When severity would increase, by then, their lungs would have already been infected…by the time they came, they would need ICU by then, and with them, their entire family would come that makes the situation difficult to handle. She added if all government protocols are followed, it would be easier to help the patients.
Don’t panic as it worsens the health
While talking to sister Surekha, Senior Nursing Officer, K.C. General Hospital PM Modi discussed the importance of following protocols, the efficacy of the vaccine and staying calm. Sister Surekha said that when a patient feels the symptoms, they should isolate themselves immediately and consult a nearby doctor to start the treatment. It is essential not to get stressed as it will worsen the condition of the patient.
Talking about the vaccine, she said that no vaccine could provide 100% safety from the disease. It takes time to build immunity; thus, it is important to stay home, stay healthy and avoid contact with people as much as possible. Wash hands regularly, wear masks properly and maintain physical distance to keep yourself safe. She also added that ayurvedic kaadha, steam inhalation, gargling and breathing exercises help in keeping the disease away.
Please practice physically distancing, wear mask properly, wash your hands regularly and home remedies you can practice in the house.
— Mann Ki Baat Updates मन की बात अपडेट्स (@mannkibaat) April 25, 2021
PM Modi also talked to Prem, an ambulance driver and talked about his experiences on duty. When Prem told PM Modi about his mother, who asked him to leave his job but he refused. He told his mother, “mother, if I too leave the job and sit idle, then who will carry these patients?” He added because everyone is deserting, leaving behind their jobs in this period of CoronaCorona! Everyone is leaving the job. Mom tells me to leave that job. I said, no, mom, I will not leave the job!
Follow the guidelines, get vaccinated, stay safe – PM Modi
Towards the end, PM Modi wished everyone on Bhagwan Mahavir Jayanti and urged them to follow restrain amid upcoming festivals including Ramzan, Buddha Purnima, and 400th Prakash Parv of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji.
“I once again urge all of you to get vaccinated and we also have to take full care.
‘Dawai Bhi, Kadai Bhi’ – Get vaccinated and maintain all precautions. Never forget this mantra.
We will soon prevail together over this calamity.”
Six critically ill patients suffering from Covid-19 died at a private hospital on Saturday in Amritsar, Punjab due to a shortage of oxygen. Now, the hospital authorities have pinned the blame on the district administration for prioritizing government hospitals for oxygen supply.
Amritsar | Five patients have died at the hospital. We are facing an oxygen shortage for the last 48 hours. The administration is saying that oxygen will not be given to private hospitals before government hospitals: MD, Neelkanth Hospital pic.twitter.com/c4GNeMn86m
Sunil Devgan, the managing director of Neelkanth Hospital where the patients died, said, “The district administration bought oxygen cylinders from suppliers for government hospitals. It is responsible for the (oxygen) shortage in private hospitals,”
He added that the families of the patients were informed about the limited stock of oxygen and were given an option to shift them to a different facility. “But they declined the option,” said Devgan.
Devgan informed that even after the death of patients, only five oxygen cylinders have been supplied to the hospital. The hospital chairman claimed that three main oxygen suppliers have said that government hospitals are being prioritised.
“Heavy police force has been deployed outside the oxygen units to prevent oxygen supply to private hospitals,” Devgan alleged.
Denying the claims, an official spokesperson claimed that oxygen was being supplied to private hospitals without any prejudice and that the government hospital was also running short of oxygen supply on Friday night.
Government blames the hospital
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has ordered the Amritsar Deputy Commissioner (DC) to initiate a thorough probe into the incident. Reprimanding the hospital authorities, he alleged that the hospital prima facie seems to have flouted orders given to all private hospitals facing oxygen shortage to shift their patients to government medical colleges.
Amritsar deputy commissioner Gurpreet Singh Khaira also held the hospital responsible for not acting on time. Reacting to Neelkanth’s announcement about the shortage in a meeting held with owners of private hospitals on Friday, Khaira said, “We told private hospitals not to admit any critical patient or those who need oxygen if they have shortage as we could arrange only a few cylinders for GMCH (Government Medical College Hospital), where more patients are admitted.”
“Private hospitals are responsible for arranging the required number of (oxygen) cylinders. If Neelkanth Hospital was short of supply, they should have referred the patients to other hospitals,” he alleged.
Punjab Minister OP Soni in a media interaction also alleged, “Amritsar’s Neelkanth Hospital authorities should have brought the matter of oxygen shortage to the notice of the Administration.”
Amritsar’s Neelkanth Hospital authorities should have brought the matter of oxygen shortage to the notice of the Administration. An inquiry committee has been set up to investigate the matter: Punjab Minister OP Soni pic.twitter.com/GgzNwZhljB
The DC has set up a two-member committee, comprising a PCS officer, Dr Rajat Oberoi, who is also in-charge of the death analysis committee, and a civil surgeon from Amritsar, to probe the matter, an official spokesperson said.
Amritsar civil surgeon Charanjit Singh also ensured an inquiry into the incident and said no such incident will be allowed to take place henceforth.
India along with battling the second wave of coronavirus is also battling fakery and deceit. Some media reports have been claiming that the Centre has asked Twitter India to take down tweets which were critical of India’s handling of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Digital portal medianama on Saturday published an article claiming that Twitter accounts of MP, MLA and an Editor were restricted for being critical of government’s handling of second wave of COVID pandemic. Even at first this sounds ridiculous because unless you have lived under a rock, many, many social media users including BJP supporters have been critical to varying degrees on handling of pandemic. However, this was soon picked up by other portals.
Crediting Medianama, Scroll claimed that several tweets on the alleged “ground-reality” have been taken down by Twitter on a legal request by the Government of India.
Quoting Twitter’s response to Medianama’s queries on its action, the reply read, “upon receiving a legal request, the platform reviews content under rules set by it and the local laws.”
It is imperative to note that nowhere has Twitter India in its response mentioned that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has asked the company to take down tweets “criticizing the government” as claimed by Medianama and certain twitter users.
Since then, the users who received a reply from Twitter Legal informing them of their problematic tweets have been alleging that the action was taken by the platform on being prompted by the Central government to suppress criticism.
Twitter user alleges suppression of information. Furthers fake news by the Scroll
MeitY’s response
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has asked social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, to remove content and posts that were found to be “spreading misinformation and public panic” around the pandemic.
Top MEITY Sources: The Govt asked @TwitterIndia to block certain accounts as they were spreading fake news by posting old pictures to misinform and create panic among the people. Accounts not restricted due to criticism of Govt’s handling of Covid crisis.
Sources said that the flagged posts carried misleading information about the Covid-19 pandemic, and were being circulated with an intention to incite public panic.
Recently, a Kashmiri journalist identified as Aarif Shah posted a photograph of an old lady hooked to an oxygen cylinder while sitting on the road. The same image was shared by the RVCJ group, TMC’s official Twitter handle of ‘Banglar Gorbo Mamata’ and soon went viral.
Aarif deleted the post after backlash.
On reverse searching the image, it was found that the photograph was from the 2018 ANI report where a man was allegedly made to wait for an ambulance at Agra Medical College while carrying an oxygen cylinder on his shoulder. The photograph was taken when he kept the cylinder down for a while.
The report is from 2018. Image Source: Screenshot from ANI’s 2018 report
Twitter’s response
Explaining the procedure, a Twitter spokesperson said, “If the content violates Twitter’s Rules, the content will be removed from the service. If it is determined to be illegal in a particular jurisdiction, but not in violation of the Twitter Rules, we may withhold access to the content in India only.”
Twitter ahead of withholding the content, notify the account holders so that they’re aware that the action has been taken in response to a legal request from the Government of India.
Fake and provocative Tweets float during Farmers protests
Similar allegations were made on the Central government when the farmers’ protest was at its peak claiming the government was trying to strangulate the agitation in February this year.
However, even then The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had asked Twitter to block around 250 Tweets/Twitter accounts which making fake, intimidatory and provocative Tweets using #ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide hashtag.
The tweets were an incitement to genocide which could have posed as a grave threat to public order and therefore the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) ordered for blocking of these Twitter accounts and Tweets under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.
In another notice to social media giant Twitter, the centre directed the social media platform to block 1,178 accounts found to be from Pakistan peddling Khalistani secessionism.
On Saturday (April 25), the Uttar Pradesh police arrested two nurses for stealing and auctioning the life-saving Remdesivir injection of a dying man in Meerut, reportedThe Times of India.
The two male nurses worked at a reputed private hospital in Meerut. They had stolen the Remdesivir injection which was allotted to a Coronavirus patient by the name of Shobhit Jain. While three doses had been administered prior to his death, the fourth dose was stolen by the two nurses. According to the police, the accused have been identified as Abid Khan and Ankit Sharma.
Although one dose of Remdesivir costs around ₹900-2000, the duo put it up for auction. The winning bid was around ₹25,000. The bid was placed by the police officials, who were pretending to be the relatives of Shobhit Jain. Based on a tipoff, the cops arrested the accused nurses who had quoted ₹32,000 for the Remdesivir injection.
Reportedly, around 6 security personnel deployed at the hospital tried to protect the accused but were later overpowered and arrested by the police as well. While speaking about the matter, SSP (Meerut) Ajay Sahani said, “Our surveillance team and policemen were working on the case after a tip-off. They (the nurses) had quoted Rs 32,000. We have arrested the nurses, Abid Khan and Ankit Sharma.”
Yogi Adityanath orders strict action against black marketing
On Saturday (April 24), Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced several measures to manage the rising Covid-19 cases in the state. Reviewing the pandemic situation through video conferencing, the CM issued several directives regarding the availability of hospital beds, oxygen, and Covid-19 medicines in the hospitals in the state.
The CM directed that all hospitals in the state where Covid-19 patients are being treated should make public the details of vacant beds in the hospital twice a day. These details should also be uploaded on the portal of Integrated COVID Control & Command Centres (ICCCC) of the districts. The CM said that beds should be allotted with full transparency.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that in collaboration with DRDO, the process of setting up Covid hospitals in Lucknow and Varanasi is about to be completed. Saying that the operationality of these two hospitals with all necessary medical facilities will further strengthen the medical resources of the state, he asked the health ministry to make arrangements for trained human resources etc.
The CM said that Remdesivir and other lifesaving drugs should be distributed transparently. He added that 18,000 vials of Remdesivir have been received from Cadila, and its supply is increasing every day. More demand should be sent to the concerned companies as per the demand. There is a need to further improve the supply as well as its distribution system. These facilities should be made equally available to all the needy, the CM emphasised.
Amidst the rising cases of Coronavirus in the country, India’s global allies have extended support to India to tide over the second wave of the pandemic. The country is now faced with an immediate demand for oxygen cylinders and containers to store oxygen and transport them across India.
Reportedly, the Union Ministry of Defence and Union Ministry of Home Affairs have reached out to several countries under operation ‘Oxygen Maitri.’ India’s global partners such as France, Russia, Germany have not only expressed solidarity with India’s fight against the pandemic but have also extended help at the time of crisis. India’s diplomatic relations have significantly improved in the backdrop of operation ‘Vaccine Maitri’.
India imports cryogenic oxygen containers from Singapore
On Saturday (April 24), the Singapore embassy in India informed that 4 cryogenic oxygen containers were transported to India from Changi airport in Singapore via an Indian Air Force (IAF) carrier. “We stand with India in its fight against Covid-19. Through a bilateral and multi-agency effort, an IAF transport plane picked up 4 cryogenic oxygen containers at Changi airport in Singapore this morning.”
Min-Liang Tan, Singaporean entrepreneur and the co-founder of Razor Inc. had offered also surgical masks to India. “Are surgical masks in need? I can see if we have some we can spare from our manufacturing line in Singapore to send over to India,” he asked.
The Singaporean embassy in India has responded by saying that it will reach out to his office.
EU offers help to India to fight the Coronavirus pandemic
Charles Michael, the President of the European Council, said, “The EU stands in solidarity with Indian people amidst resurgent COVID-19 pandemic. The fight against the virus is a common fight.” He further informed that a meeting between PM Narendra Modi other European Union (EU) leaders will be held on May 8 to discuss Covid support and cooperation.
The #EU stands in solidarity with Indian people amidst resurgent #COVID19 pandemic.
The fight against the virus is a common fight.
We will discuss our support and cooperation at EU-India Leaders’ meeting on 8 May with @narendramodi and @antoniocostapm
On Friday, EAM (Minister for External Affairs) S Jaishankar held a meeting with Vice-President Margrethe Vestager to discuss preparation for the India-EU summit.
Appreciated the support offered by EU on Covid challenges currently faced by India. Confident that EU will help strengthen our capabilities at this critical juncture.
He thanked the EU for offering support on the existing Coronavirus crisis in the country. “Confident that EU will help strengthen our capabilities at this critical juncture,” S Jaishankar said.
Germany supplies 24 oxygen transport tanks to India
In a tweet, the German embassy in India informed, “In this spirit, the private German company Linde together with Tata have managed to secure 24 oxygen transport tanks that will be airlifted to India in order to increase transport capacity from production sites to Covid19 hotspots.”
In this spirit, the private German company Linde together with Tata have managed to secure 24 oxygen transport tanks that will be airlifted to India in order to increase transport capacity from production sites to Covid19 hotspots.
This is despite the fact that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had recently lamented that the European Union had ‘allowed’ India to become the pharmacy of the world. She had expressed fear that Germany would not get Covid-19 medicine, given that the second wave of Coronavirus has badly hit the country.
UK, France and Russia express solidarity with India
The Secretary of State for Health & Social Care in the United Kingdom, Matt Hancock, had expressed solidarity with India. In a tweet on Friday, he said, “Heartbreaking scenes from India. My thoughts are with our Indian friends. We stand ready to help fight this awful virus.”
Heartbreaking scenes from India. My thoughts are with our Indian friends. We stand ready to help fight this awful virus.
Similarly, French President Emmanuel Macron has said that France stood by the Indian people amidst the resurgence of Coronavirus cases in the country. “France is with you in this struggle, which spares no-one. We stand ready to provide out support.” His statement was reiterated by the French ambassador to India, Emmanuel Lenain.
❝I want to send a message of solidarity to the Indian people, facing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. France is with you in this struggle, which spares no-one. We stand ready to provide our support.❞
As per reports, Russia has also offered to help India amidst the Coronavirus. Citing sources, India Today reported the government will import oxygen tanks and oxygen concentrators from Russia.
United States claims ‘solidarity’ with India while staying silent on lifting embargo on vaccine essentials
In a tweet of Sunday, Secretary Antony Blinken tweeted, “Our hearts go out to the Indian people in the midst of the horrific COVID-19 outbreak. We are working closely with our partners in the Indian government, and we will rapidly deploy additional support to the people of India and India’s health care heroes.”
Our hearts go out to the Indian people in the midst of the horrific COVID-19 outbreak. We are working closely with our partners in the Indian government, and we will rapidly deploy additional support to the people of India and India’s health care heroes.
This is despite the fact that the Biden administration has restricted the supply of raw materials required for vaccine production in India.
‘Vaccine Maitri’ – India led the global fight against the Coronavirus pandemic
India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, has yet again come to the world’s aid by successfully supplying vaccines to its neighboring and other developing countries at an extremely affordable cost, besides giving away millions of doses to friendly nations for free. India has airlifted more than millions of COVID-19 doses to almost 100 nations under its initiative termed “Vaccine Maitri”.
Till now, India has sent 10.6 million doses for free to friendly nations. Along with that, Serum Institute of India has sent almost 20 million doses under commitment to COVAX, while another 35.8 million doses have been exported by the vaccine manufacturers under commercial contract with foreign nations. Now that India has been badly hit by the second wave of the pandemic, India’s diplomatic relations established by the Modi regime are proving fruitful and effective.
An RTI reply dated April 08 has revealed that the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government has spent Rs 150 crores from January 2021 to March 2021 on advertisements and publicity through various mediums.
So money spent by @ArvindKejriwal during first 3 months of 2021 on bribing Indian media via ads Jan: 32.52 cr Feb: 25.33 cr Mar: 92.48 cr
He spent 1.67 crores per day just on ads. Imagine the no of oxygen tankers he could have built witt this money? #DilliKaCancer hai ye! pic.twitter.com/zi5VFEB1OK
The RTI reply uploaded by a Twitter user Alok Bhatt revealed Rs 32.52 crores were spent on ads by the AAP government in January 2021, Rs 25.33 crores were spent in February 2021 and a whopping Rs 92.48 crores were spent in March 2021. This averages to Rs 1.67 crore daily when the health infrastructure in the national capital had begun to crumble amid the second wave of coronavirus.
The reply specifies that the total expenditure includes advertisements and publicity through print media, electronic media as well as the internet.
Further, Kejriwal government has spent over 800 crores in advertisement expenses in past two years.
Arvind Kejriwal was heavily criticized for advertising and promoting the apparent achievements of the AAP government through YouTube ads in April.
Screengrab of Delhi government’s YouTube ad shared by a Twitter user
It is imperative to note that hospitals in Delhi-NCR regions are facing a scarcity of medicinal oxygen. The hospitals had to momentarily stop admitting new patients while asking existing ones to leave.
Damage control by Delhi government
In hindsight, after realizing the damage caused by the new wave of Covid-19, the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal started appealing to the Chief Ministers of other states to provide them with oxygen if they have anything to spare. This is after the CM had promised home delivery of oxygen in August last year.
In an attempt to do some damage control and sound innocent, Kejriwal illegally aired his speech during a private meeting of the PM with the Chief Ministers of all states and UTs where he was seen requesting with folded hands for oxygen supply to Delhi through railways and air. Much to his dismay, the Centre was already in action. Kejriwal was not only reprimanded for the breach of trust but was also informed about the actions being taken to ensure an uninterrupted supply of oxygen by the Prime Minister himself.
Court pulls up Delhi government for its shoddy management
The Delhi High Court on Saturday pulled up the Delhi government and remarked that the government had utterly failed in creating a mechanism to ensure the smooth supply of oxygen.
It was also informed that the Delhi Government was not taking any steps to collect the oxygen allocated to them. The Court had said, “Every state is arranging its own tankers, if you’re not having your own tanks, arrange them. You will have to do it, get in touch with the Central govt officers. We are not here to facilitate contact between officers.”
An officer with the central government had remarked, “All other States are collaborating for tankers, railway. For Delhi, it’s like they are to be served on the platter. We are helping States. Delhi officers need to do that.” Thus, it reveals that the oxygen crisis in Delhi is more due to the AAP Government’s failure to set up a mechanism to ensure the smooth supply of oxygen to hospitals.
Non-utilization of PM Cares Funds
While Arvind Kejriwal continues to play politics over the crisis by releasing ads or folding his hands in closed door meetings, Union Health Ministry informed the Delhi High Court on Tuesday that the central government had sanctioned funds from PM CARES Fund to Kejriwal Government in December 2020 to set up eight PSA (Pressure Swing Absorption) oxygen plants in Delhi.
Delhi High Court in its order asks Kejriwal govt-when Central govt had sanctioned funds in Dec. 2020 to set up 8 Pressure Swing Absorption(PSA) Plants for production of oxygen, why only one has become operational till date. As usual, Delhi Govt had no answers. pic.twitter.com/1b60NRWTee
However, since December, only one such plant has been set up by the Kejriwal govt.
Delhi government forced to swing into action
After being pulled up by the Courts, a Delhi government source has now informed that eight pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen generation plants are being installed in Delhi with the support of PM Cares Fund. One plant at a Burari hospital has been installed and the other four are expected to be installed by April 30.
The ASI of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force Christopher Lakra who is posted at Pandaripani CAP camp is reported to be missing since April 21. As per an ANI report, he was last seen near a jungle as informed by the locals. Shalabh Sinha, SP Kawardha, Chhattisgarh updated that search operations are on in the area.
APC (ASI) Christopher Lakra who is posted at Pandaripani CAP camp has been missing since April 21. Locals of nearby villages have confirmed to have seen him near jungle area. We are seraching for him: Shalabh Sinha, SP Kawardha, Chhattisgarh (24/4) pic.twitter.com/GoOWaAgYQU
However, no clue of the CAF jawan has been found so far and the police have lodged a missing report in Rengkhar police station.
This is the third such incident after the unfortunate Bijapur-Sukma Naxalite attack in which 22 jawans lost their lives earlier this month.
ASI Murali Tati
On April 24, three days after being abducted by the Naxalites from Gangalur, ASI Murali Tati was found dead. As per an ETV Bharat report, the Naxalites killed Tati and threw his body on the road along with luggage.
A letter was recovered near the body of Murali Tati in which the Naxalites accused him of killing villagers from 2006 till now. Naxalites also blamed Murali Tati of killing members of PLGA in an encounter.
CRPF jawan Rakeshwar Singh
The soldier of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Rakeshwar Singh Manhas, who was captured by the Naxalites in Chhattisgarh after the April 3 ambush, was released on April 08.
Chhattisgarh: CoBRA jawan Rakeshwar Singh Manhas brought to CRPF camp, Bijapur after he was released by naxals pic.twitter.com/gjPgFJEeDt
According to reports, the state government had adhered to the Naxal terrorist’s demands and nominated two people, including a person from the tribal community, to negotiate with the Maoists and secure the soldier’s release.
Days after the deadly terror attack in Sukma, the Left-wing terrorists had admitted that they are keeping CRPF constable Rakeshwar Singh Manhas as a hostage. The terrorists had sent a letter to the security forces, acknowledging that they are holding Manhas captive and asked the government to appoint a negotiator to discuss his release.
The brutal massacre of Indian security personnel in Chhattisgarh
In the deadliest terrorist attack of 2021, a group of 400 Naxals ambushed a massive operation that included the STF, DRG and District Force of the Chhattisgarh Police, the CRPF and its elite COBRA unit. The teams were deployed in the forests of Chhattisgarh for a search and destroy anti-Naxalite operation along the border of Bijapur-Sukma district.
The counter-attack by Naxalites resulted in the martyrdom of 22 jawans and injured 31 others. The Naxalites also held some jawans in captive taking advantage of the ambush.
On April 24, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath assured that there is no shortage of oxygen in any private or public Covid hospital in the stater. He added the state government is going to conduct an audit of the life-saving gas with the support of various institutes.
While speaking during virtual interaction with editors of various newspapers, CM said, “There is no shortage of oxygen in any COVID hospital, be it private or government. The problem is black marketing and hoarding, which will be tackled with a heavy hand. We will conduct an oxygen audit in collaboration with IIT Kanpur, IIM Lucknow and IIT BHU for proper monitoring of oxygen. The system of live tracking of oxygen demand, supply and distribution will be implemented.”
Asserting that there is no shortage of oxygen in any private or public COVID hospital in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said the state government would conduct an audit of the life-saving gas in collaboration with various institutes. He further added that the supply is adequate in the state, provided only the needy use it. “Every infected patient does not need oxygen, cooperation is expected from the media in increasing awareness about this,” he said.
Do not let the guard down, CM urged the public
CM Yogi said that there were some initial problems in increasing the number of hospital beds in the state. However, they were quickly overcome. He urged people not to take the infection lightly as a normal viral fever. He said, “It would be a huge mistake to take corona as normal viral fever. I am also in its grip. I have been following all COVID protocols since April 13 while in isolation.”
Keep the population in mind while reviewing UP
He added that while reviewing the situation in UP, one should keep its large population and demographic diversity in mind. In this Covid-19 wave, the number of cases is around 30 times more than the last time. “We have made arrangements for oxygen plants in government institutions. There was a lack of this system in private institutions. Work is on to set up 31 new oxygen plants including 18 plants based on DRDO’s latest technology,” he said.
Remdesivir is available in the state, assured CM
The Chief Minister assured that there is no shortage of the drugs like Remdesivir in the state. He added that when the demand increased, the state government sent an aircraft to Ahmedabad to airlift the drug procured directly from the pharma company. He said not all patients need this medicine while emphasizing on using it wisely.
Oxygen monitoring system launched in UP
The UP government has launched an oxygen monitoring system. Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department Awanish K Awasthi said in a statement on Saturday that under this system, the government has opened a Command Control Centre at Home Department in Lucknow. He said, “through this, Management Information System’s (MIS) daily, a live report on the movement of Oxygen tankers can be monitored and viewed on a map. Software’s dashboard will analyse and inform if the tanker is getting delayed – either in filling or in transportation.”
He further added that the state would create an app that will be installed in the driver’s mobile phone to act as GPS. It will help to monitor the oxygen supply in the state.
The covid-19 situation in Uttar Pradesh
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Uttar Pradesh is currently the second worst-hit state by the Covid-19 infection. The state recorded 37,944 cases on April 24. There are 2,88,144 cases active in the state. So far, the state has reported 10,51,314 cases, out of which 7,52,211 have recovered while 10,959 have lost their lives. 222 people died of Covid-19 related complications on Saturday.
