Covid-19 Mass Exodus: The Best We Can Do? | NewsClick
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
The rulers of the day have turned a medical emergency into a human nightmare. The people are being subjected to the worst forms of abuse. Shots of migrant workers and daily-wagers are everywhere—they are being sprayed with poisonous disinfectants, walking hungry and weary and forlorn, only to be humiliated and thrashed by lathi-swinging constables who seem to be the new rulers of the day.
The unpreparedness of the central government to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic and related concerns is brought out starkly by the fact that even in the midst of a 21-day countrywide lockdown, migrant labour and their families have suffered casualties and death, including those who died at the hands of an overzealous police force. The reason is the abruptness with which the lockdown was introduced, giving people barely four hours warning.
The health services in Uttar Pradesh came to a halt on Tuesday when all the ambulance workers in the state went on an indefinite strike after their demands were not met. The Ambulance Workers’ Association has been demanding safety equipment in order to protect themselves from the coronavirus epidemic. The drivers who have been employed by Hyderabad-based PPP firm GVK EMRI have demanded that all the 19,221 workers be provided with safety equipment, health insurance worth Rs 50 lakh and food during their duty hours. Brijesh Singh, an ambulance driver based in Lucknow-Barabanki, who returned to his home following the association’s strike, said that despite working for a sector which is responsible for saving lives, the government has refused to consider them to be ‘government employees’.
On March 30, Monday, Palestinians marked the 44th Land Day, as well as the 2nd anniversary of the Great March of Return protests. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, no mass rallies or demonstrations were organized. Instead, activists and Palestine solidarity organizations announced an ‘online rally’ and a ‘Twitterstorm’ to mark the anniversaries and to highlight the suffering and struggles of Palestinians, especially in Gaza, where residents have been living under a crushing Israeli-Egyptian land, air and sea blockade for the past 14 years.
Mohd. Qayoom is a Raj Mistri (skilled mason) who usually engaged in petty contracts of construction in Mukundpur and other neighbouring areas in North West Delhi. Although he did not get work everyday, he was able to earn enough to support himself and his family. However, the countrywide lockdown to contain COVID-19 pandemic has upended the life of thousands of workers like Qayoom, several of whom have started moving to their native villages in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand fearing they would not be able to cope with joblessness and hunger.
On March 30, Monday, the Hungarian parliament passed an emergency decree giving unchecked powers to prime minister Viktor Orban. The authoritarian decree was passed by the conservative Fidesz party-dominated parliament under the pretext of fighting COVID-19. The bill was introduced on March 27 by justice minister Judit Varga and will be in effect till the end of the COVID-19 emergency (declared on March 11). The bill was passed with the support of 137 legislators while 53 voted against it.
Srinagar: The central government's new domicile law for the newly created union territory of Jammu and Kashmir has drawn harsh criticism from regional political leadership including its allies, who have questioned the law and the time of its introduction during a severe global health crisis.
J&K: Centre’s Move to Introduce New Domicile Rules Amid COVID Lockdown Draws Flak from Politicians | NewsClick
Reports say around 90 cases in the country are linked to the event which took place on March 13-15. It goes without saying that the conduct of such an event at that time was irresponsible. Yet if we look at the coverage around it, especially on television media, we see huge amounts of venom and slander. There is a clear attempt to communalise the coverage of case around the incident at a time when we should be dealing with it in a scientific and united way. Familiar arguments about the Muslim community are being thrown around on channels and opinion columns. This stigmatization can have a direct impact on our handling of the crisis itself.
As Karnataka closed its borders with Kerala for vehicular movement in the wake of people from neighbouring Kasargod in Kerala testing positive for COVID-19, seven people have died due to delay in medical assistance. The people from the border areas of Kerala have been depending- especially in the case of a medical emergency- on Mangalore in Karnataka rather than Kasargodw. Since the roads are blocked, the people from Kerala have been denied access to hospitals in Mangalore.
Senior journalist Bhasha Singh talks about the communalisation amid the corona crisis, attempting to hide the government’s failure. After the poor, the onus is being put on the Muslims. A large section of the media is participating actively in this vicious campaign, which is extremely worrisome. On top of this, hours before lockdown, PM Modi had reportedly asked print media owners and editors to refrain from negative coverage. This is a blatant attack on the freedom and neutrality of the media.
Ramachandra Guha, historian and public intellectual, says that this forced migration is comparable to what we witnessed during the Partition of India, humankind's largest forced migration of the 20th century. Compounding this colossal disaster is PM Modi's reluctance to take advice from experts, particularly from those not politically aligned with him.
Many countries in the world have announced that the government will guarantee the payment of at least 80 per cent of the salaries being drawn by workers who are now unable to attend work. Government of India should do likewise. Alongside there should be a moratorium on bank loans for a year for SMEs and retail traders as well as on EMIs.
All testing kits approved by the National Institute of Virology must be utilised. It is strange that the union health ministry has issued a circular that only those testing kits approved by the US FDA and European EC alone will be used. Reports indicate that there is only one manufacturer in Gujarat who produces such kits. In view of the gravity of the situation, this circular must be withdrawn and all kits approved by the NIV must be deployed for use, urgently.
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