Skip to main content

Jharkhand Covid restrictions? Hunger may worsen as Central grain stocks pile up

Counterview Desk 

As pandemic rages across the nation, the Modi government is busy with election riding on religious majoritarianism, well-known civil rights network, Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JJM) has said, demanding a large number of urgent measures both at the Central and state levels to stop the fast pace at which the disease is spreading across the country.
Especially referring to the situation in Jharkhand, JJM says, the situation is “alarmingly worsening”, pointing out, “Although the state's public health system has always been very weak, there have been no specific efforts by the state government to strengthen it in the past one year.” Things have reached a point where, already, cases are “doubling in the state every five days.”
JJM predicts, given this framework, the danger is, the economy and the situation of hunger are “likely to worsen”, and this would happen despite the fact that “currently government godowns have the highest even grain stock (3.5 times the buffer stock volume -- 772.33 lakh tonne).”
Already, it adds, “It is being reported from many states that migrant workers are desperate to return to their villages due to lack of employment and pandemic uncertainty.”

Text:

While the Covid cases are exploding across the country, the Prime Minister and his entire cabinet are busy electioneering and flouting pandemic rules in the West Bengal elections. Also, his party’s government in Uttarakhand is organising the Kumbh mela with a crowd of millions. In the early days of Covid in 2020, the central government consistently gave statements that Covid was not a health epidemic. This year too, in the initial days of the rising wave of new types of Corona virus, the government did not publicly acknowledge the seriousness of this wave and of the mutant virus.
In many states, including Jharkhand, problems like lack of testing kits, lack of oxygen and beds in hospital, closure of OPD etc. are being seen. It seems that the government learnt nothing from last year’s experience of the pandemic. Public health system has not been strengthened in the last one year. In this year's budget of the central government, there was no special provision in this direction.
It is also alarming that while the central government sent the vaccines made in the country to other countries to gain appreciation from the international community, till date only 1% of the population of country’s population has been vaccinated. In Jharkhand, the situation is alarmingly worsening. Although the state's public health system has always been very weak, there have been no specific efforts by the state government to strengthen it (in the past one year). Currently, cases are doubling in the state every five days.
The second wave of the pandemic has again exposed the religious majoritarianism of the BJP and the central government. Last year, the BJP, the central government and their sponsored media institutions had left no stone unturned to discredit the Muslims by giving a communal color to the Covid cases found (during the Tablighi Jamaat). Today, millions of Hindus are crowding for Kumbh Mela and the number of cases in Haridwar is increasing daily. Not bothered by this, the BJP government of Uttarakhand is organizing the mela in the name of religious belief and the central government is silent on this blatant flouting of pandemic rules.
With the rising wave of covid, several states including Jharkhand have imposed a variety of restrictions. The economy is likely to worsen in the days to come. The situation of hunger will worsen too. On the other hand, currently government godowns have the highest even grain stock (3.5 times the buffer stock volume -- 772.33 lakh tonne). It is being reported from many states that migrant workers are desperate to return to their villages due to lack of employment and pandemic uncertainty. The rush in the limited number of trains being run stands witness to this.
It is a matter of grave concern that till now only 5800 workers have been registered in Jharkhand under the Inter-State Migrant Labour Act
In such a situation, it is necessary that the central government focuses its attention on preventing the pandemic and ensuring social security for the poor. Also, the central government should not pass any policy-related ordinance during this period (like the ordinance of the amendment to the agricultural laws last year). If there is a need for a policy change, then a special Parliament session should be convened to discuss the proposals. 
To fight the second wave of pandemic, Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha demands the following from the Centre and Jharkhand government:
  • The vaccination rate should be increased to at least three times without delay. Vaccine production should be increased and the need for vaccination should be widely disseminated. Camps for testing, vaccination and health services should organised in urban slums. RT PCR test should be widely done. Oxygen production should be increased and its adequate availability should be ensured. People should be given training on how to put patients on oxygen support.
  • Arrangements should be made on war footing to increase the number of beds in hospitals, medicines and for the placing of required medical staff. It should be ensured that the OPD services (for non-covid cases) continue running in government and private health centers and hospitals at every level. The state government should re-start the quarantine centers at the panchayat and block levels.
  • Budget to strengthen the public health system should be allocated without delay.
  • The state government should not impose complete lockdown under any circumstances. Economic activities should be kept running, as much as possible. Sufficient budget for Mukhyamantri Shahri Shramik Rozgar Yojana should be allocated and it should be implemented properly. Under MGNREGA, sufficient number of ‘kuchha’ schemes should be implemented immediately in every village. There should be no restriction placed for the transport and sale of agricultural input commodities, produce, vegetables etc.
  • State government should ensure that use of masks and physical distancing norms are maintained in public spaces. Its need should be widely disseminated. Gatherings, where it is not possible to maintain these norms, should not be allowed. If such a gathering is organised, then instead of inflicting any kind of police violence on the people, the gathering should be stopped and all participants should undergo paid RT-PCR test and buy masks.
  • The central government should immediately universalise the public distribution system for rural areas and urban slums so that all the left-out families can get food grains. The state government should activate all existing ‘dal-bhat kendras’ and increase numbers as per requirement. Local administration and ration dealers should be instructed that if any person asks for grain (with or without ration card), s/he should be immediately given free grains. Anganwadi centers should not be shut down. Cooked food/ dry ration should be provided for children, pregnant women and the elderly by ensuring physical distancing and masks in the Anganwadi centers.
  • The state government should provide free food grains and income support during the pandemic to daily laborers, rickshaw pullers, domestic workers, rag-pickers and sanitation workers.
  • The state government should put district-wise information related to migrant workers such as the number of workers who have gone outside as migrant workers specifying the state of destination etc. in the public domain. It is a matter of grave concern that till now only about 5800 workers have been registered under the Inter-State Migrant Labour Act (according to government data). The Hemant Soren government should also write letters to other states to ensure the welfare of the Jharkhandi laborers during the pandemic.
  • Public transport such as trains and buses should be fully operational along with ensuring sanitization, physical distance and use of mask. Increase the number of trains. Covid testing should be done at every bus stand and train station.
  • The central government should immediately use the PM Cares Fund to strengthen the public health system and publicize the information related to it. The state government should create a website related to the epidemic on which all government orders, notifications, helplines, daily testing and reporting of epidemics related to the epidemic, government expenditure etc. should be available.
  • To ensure adequate livelihood resources in the state, Jharkhand government should formulate a long-term strategy (so that people do not have to migrate in search of employment). Land bank policy should be repealed. Full ownership of natural resources, community claims under forest rights act and community control over forest resources should be granted without delay; also promotion of minor forest produce based livelihoods and farming, especially promotion of collective farming should be done.

Comments

TRENDING

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Central pollution watchdog sees red in Union ministry labelling waste to energy green

By Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran*  “Destructors”, “incinerators” and “waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration” all mean the same thing – indiscriminate burning of garbage! Having a history of about one and a half centuries, WTE incinerators have seen several reboots over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. 

First-of-its-kind? 'Eco-friendly, low cost' sewage treatment system installed in Gujarat

Counterview Desk Following the installation of the Unconventional Decentralized Multi-Stage Reactor (UDMSR) for sewage treatment, a note on what is claimed to be the  first-of-its-kind technology said, the treated sewage from this system “can be directly utilized for agricultural purposes”, even as proving to be a “saviour in the times of water crisis.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Indo-Bangla border: Farmers facing 'illegal obstacles' in harvesting, transporting yields

  Counterview Desk  In a representation to the chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, human rights defender Kirity Roy, who is secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), has said that Border Security Force (BSF) personnel are creating "illegal obstacles" for farmers seeking to harvest their ripened yields and transport them to the market in village Jhaukuthi of Cooch Behar district.

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

Wasteland, a colonial legacy, being used to 'give away' vast tracts to Ratnagiri refinery

By Fouziya Tehzeeb* William D’Souza, a 55-year old farmer from Kuthethur, Mangalore, was busy mixing cattle feed when we arrived at his doorsteps. Around 25 km from the bustling city of Mangalore, Kuthethur is a lush green village with thick vegetation. On the way to William’s house the idyllic view gets blocked by the flares and smoke arising from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL).

CAA disregards India's inclusive plural ethos, 'betrays' ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Counterview Desk    "Outraged" at the move of the Central government to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA 2019) weeks before the election, the top rights group, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has demanded that the law be repealed. 

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Invincible, Modi 'taller' than BJP, RSS: An opportunity for Congress beyond 2024?

By NS Venkataraman*  With the announcement of poll schedule for the 2024 parliamentary election, there is palpable excitement and expectation amongst the countrymen  about the shape of things to happen in India after the  results of the election would be announced. There is also speculation abroad about the future course of developments in India.