CIVID WOES: Poor Die in Silence While Rich Cry
The second wave of coronavirus pandemic re-emerged in India after almost a year of the one in 2020. Only a few months back India had claimed to have successfully controlled the spread of the virus and was in the forefront of advising other countries about the strategies it had adopted. But it was a short-lived sermon. Since last week of march there has been a rapid increase in the number of infected people as also deaths per day. The month of April had been hell to say least. By April 27th India had crossed 3000 deaths per day which could also be a case of under reporting.
The present version of coronavirus is said to be more potent as such more fatal. In the process India acquired the dubious distinction of being a country with the highest numbers of per day infections as also deaths. This is in the background of the fact that India is the largest manufacturer of the anti-virus vaccines. It also claims to be one of the world's economic power as also a country that influences global policies.
But India is reliving holocaust. People are dying in the hospital, on the road and, even in the houses. Spread of dead bodies and relatives crying in despair are heart wrenching. Race and struggle for ambulances and oxygen cylinders are pathetic and also depressing. There is for sure lack of coordination among governments. The ill-equipped medical system is no match for this mammoth crisis, but India knew this last year. Indian’s attitude of ‘Chalta hai’ had kept Indians away from taking any remedial actions. Most of the deaths April 2021 are caused by the non-availability of the beds and medical oxygen in the hospitals. Doctors are seen crying due to frustration of not being saved lives as also for having to make a choice as to who should be given oxygen. While some governments live in denial with regards to shortage of oxygen the others adopted a pessimistic approach by saying that counting of dead bodies are of no consequence.
On the streets of national and state capitals, district cities one could observe hell had descended as one could see several dead bodies waiting in lines to be cremated or buried. Patients’ relatives are crying in despair in front of the hospitals for not being able to find bed for their dear ones. The hospitals on the other hand faced with non-availability of oxygen are directing the patient’s attendants to arrange for oxygen themselves. Strange but this is the ground reality. In the black market, the going price for a cylinder of oxygen is Rs. One lac. Some hospital officials are selling beds for over a lac per bed. There are open rent seeking in life saving medicines. Even vaccines including Ramdesivir are being sold at hundred times their MRP.
The conditions being faced by poor people in rural India are even worse, but we do not hear about them as they are not within the camera scope of the media, as their focus in TRP. Losing jobs and having to walk over thousands of miles are not as much of a problem for the poor as is being left to die, uncared and unreported. There is no account of how many of them have got infected as also how many of them have died. There are no disputes about their number of actual deaths since no one cares. Following the 2020 long march by migrant workers, the governments made many promises but of no avail.
The only image we saw and remember is the re-emergence of workers leaving metropolis as jobs have once again vanished. It seems we have not learned any lessons from the identical outflow of migrant workers during 2020. The interstate migrant workers 1979 has remained good in paper. In fact, it is not even good in paper since the said law has been subsumed by one of the four labour codes that are yet to be enforced by the central government. The economic revival packages announced by the central and state governments were aimed at job creation, but nothing seems to have workers. The promised new hospitals are nowhere visible. The much-needed social security is being hardly discussed. The funds collected under CSR and the Building and Other Workers Cess are being diverted. But there is a new category of workers called ‘Frontline Workers’ who could be made to work devoid of the effective respect of their workplace rights as also health protections.
Come February 2021, while the leaders got engaged with assembling people for one of other purposes, the basic norms of social distancing, masking and other conditionalities were given in full view of those who issued such directives in the first place. The public figures' denial of eminent danger by not following the new norms, had multiplier effects. On the other hand, the protesting voice and action of the public are being ignored with vengeance.
A country whose constitution or the basic law is, by and for people yet majority of people live and die as non-entity. All the promises made ever since independence have either been forgotten or have remained good in paper only. Whatever the statistics may conclude and the governments as also their administration may project, the fact remains that India is poorer today in terms of social development as also financial inclusion. In the absence of any form of social protection and income guarantee, the poor are at the mercy of the God, in case he or she is listening!
2021/04/24ps