The overhaul of the pandemic has overseen some of the top government officials including ICMR maintaining perilous silence on the ailing health conditions in India. Nevertheless, it apparently looks like the tide is changing for good. Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) Director-General Dr. Balram Bhargava is the first significant official standing up for the sake of the citizens, stressing the synopsis of a lockdown to truncate the spread of coronavirus infections. The head of the ICMR somewhat might have criticized the Modi government for its meaningless presumptions about the second wave of the coronavirus.
He reported during an interview that districts assessing a high number of infections should protract the lockdown for a further eight to six weeks. The comments raised eyebrows as it was the first time a government official has spoken up about the pandemic crisis. It is kosher that these officials are reeling under the radar of the central government to disseminate no facts on the matter and remain hushed. The officials have drafted the proleptic approach adopted by the senior bureaucrats and politicians in India despite having a comprehensive yet overwhelming overview of the pandemic.
Dr. Balram Bhargava‘s(ICMR head) comments must be regarded as audacious and courageous as it has been long-time known that the frivolous shush will only take the country in making wrong decisions. For a senior government official to stand up and outline how long lockdown should get imposed or extended is in itself of integral heritage. On the contrary, the government has neglected the prowess to enact prompt measures for imposing a nationwide lockdown.
Amid the high infection surge in several districts across the country, political ignorance has wavered, which has impacted the transmission. It has come down to a breaking point where everything could turn into ruination, and the government will still be untethered. Following the quandary faced amid the second wave of the pandemic, the ICMR head has resorted to revamping a hell of a lot more concrete approaches to obtaining enforcement across India. The declaration reflects the crumbling crisis of shortage of beds, oxygen, and morgue spaces in several districts.
Pandemic’s Second Wave Spiked Infections: ICMR
According to a report published by Reuters, three-fourths of India’s 718 districts have been traumatized under the fret of spiking infections, recording a test-positivity rate of more than 10 percent. Dr. Balram Bhargav, ICMR head also stressed his vengeance about the staggering situation prevailing in India. If the national capital restrictions get eased imminently, then it will be a tormenting demolition. Since the emergence of the second wave of the pandemic, Delhi has been the worst hit with surging infections and healthcare infrastructure messed up all over the place.
How often have we seen the Delhi state government being involved in loggerheads with the Central government regarding the shortage of medical supplies? Most of you might have been aware of the conflicting tussle between the two prolific associations of the nation. Delhi’s graph of positivity rates had surged up to 35 percent, while the estimations got predicted at a much minuscule level. The claims of the government that the situation is under control have gone in vain. What could we assume of the striking contrasting nature between the comments of the ICMR Chief and the Central Government? An emphatic political hubris is the least we can say.
A few days ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted through a virtual conference with several Chief Ministers that lockdown should be the last resort implemented by the states. The statements resembled the previous instances about the haughtiness of the Modi government that despite several warnings and tremors from experts and state leaders, the Centre has abstained from extending a nationwide lockdown from the current temporary lockdowns imposed by the state government.
The resolution got made after analyzing the economic impact that the pandemic has reiterated over the past year. The argument that the protagonists of the Modi government have aroused, why are the politicians suddenly so conservative and concerned about the economic recession. The answer was diabolical as they didn’t adhere to the precinct of the experts due to the result of election polls. But now that the elections stand over. Will the government eliminate the refrained stance and impose a lockdown? It remains to be seen!
Bhargav, ICMR head has spoken up some significant cautious measures that the government should amend in the upcoming days to curb the transmission of the virus. However, he did not directly scrutinize the government’s incompetence in analyzing the dent of the second wave of the pandemic on the healthcare and economic forefront. His recriminatory comments were a slight indication of blaming the government. He conceded to the fact that there had been a delay in responding to the crisis. While asserting about the delay in an interview, he issued a contradictory statement highlighted in various news outlets. “I think the sole discontent we’ve got was there was a modest delay accepting the ten percent (recommendation), but that did happen,” he said.
India’s situation has been stalling since the early phase of March 2021, and the perplexion point seizes at the rising rate of infections and deaths across the country. Hospitals and morgue getting packed like sardines, oxygen and beds are running stupendously short. Medical personnel, despite their tireless efforts, have been exhausted by perceiving the burden at their bottlenecks. The current wave has overseen India’s record spiking infections of 350,000 every day and reported 4,000 deaths.
Modi and other top diplomats across the country have got heavily castigated for remitting mass election rallies without a proper virulence of following Covid-19 norms. The federal government and the election commission didn’t propose supremacy on conciliating the religious festival, and the election rallies happened in exponential masses and attended by thousands of devout Hindus.
Bhargava, ICMR head had claimed during a meeting on April 15 that the National Task Force had recommended the government to impose a lockdown across several districts that have recorded 10 percent or higher positivity rates. The government had claimed that there are no differences in the data presented by official home ministry websites. Following the notions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dissuaded states and asserted the states to focus on the micro containment zones.
The condemnation across the ICMR officials prolonged the frustration in the organization because of the government’s adroitness in publicly flouting the safety measures, which were inevitable to get enacted in the first two weeks of April. He proclaimed the blame on the government by saying that even the political supremacy hasn’t conveyed the correct information and messages to the citizens. The negligence has cost us big time, and that has put us in jeopardy and miseries.
In his conclusive statement, Bhargava, ICMR head said that he aligned his juncture to the point of view of his colleagues in believing that the political hue has disrupted the economy and the healthcare system. He supported the argument that mass gatherings should not have been acceptable in India or anywhere else in the world amid the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic.
