Months of lack of preparation for the pandemic is followed by formation of empowered groups and committees in a truly Indian sarkari fashion to deal with the Covid19 crisis in the second wave which has an insidious dimension of Oxygen scarcity.
A six-member empowered group has been constituted by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) to ensure smooth supply of essential services and commodities in the national capital during the ongoing lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19.
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The DDMA said in an order, that the group will also engage with private sector and industry associations for arrangements of critical supplies related to Covid19 equipment and logistics which are required at the field level by districts or other departments.
Delhi Trade and Taxes Commissioner, Ankur Garg will head the six-member group.
On Sunday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced extension of the ongoing lockdown in Delhi for another week, saying that the severity of Covid-19 is unabated and positivity rate has been as high as 36% in the last few days.
He said that the lockdown imposed on April 19 night will now continue till 5 a.m. on May 3. Before extension, it was scheduled to end at 5 a.m. on Monday.
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In an order, State Nodal Officer (Covid-19) Satya Gopal said that the empowered group will address the issues of export-oriented units due to restrictions imposed during curfew.
Mr. Gopal, who is also the Additional Chief Secretary (Power), said in the order that it will also address issues, if any, being faced by district administration regarding availability of Covid-19 related essential goods and services, other than medicines and hospital supplies.
The order also stated, “The six-member group will also identify problem areas and provide effective solutions thereof, delineate policies, formulate plans, strategies and take all necessary steps for effective and time-bound implementation of these plans/strategies/decisions.”
With the issue of shortage of beds continuing in the national capital, search for beds and then long wait at hospitals have proved to be agonizing for attendants and relatives of patients, they rued. While a steady stream of cars and ambulances kept visiting the emergency wings of hospitals, several also had to leave due to the paucity of beds.
From shortage of beds, to waiting for days outside hospital bedrooms, from not getting slots in crematoriums to not getting adequate Oxygen, Delhi citizens are seeing the malevolent dark side of the Covid19 crisis, in a season with an indifferent central government.
It must be noted that officials in the Ministry of health had suggested the government against the export of Oxygen, which was not heeded by the government.
The scenario of absence of basic facilities in hospitals is certainly the doing of an unprepared over-confident government.
