By Snobar Khan,
The catastrophic unfolding of the pandemic appears to be the worst-case scenario that many feared: the second wave coronavirus has rapidly slid into a devastating crisis as the disease continues to rampage. The infections have spread so fast that overwhelmed hospitals are unbearably full; medicine is running out; supplies of lifesaving oxygen are running low and morgues have run out of space. There aren’t enough ambulances to carry the sick to get care, nor are there enough vans to carry the dead to graveyards. There aren’t even enough graveyards, nor enough wood to burn the necessary pyres.
Who is responsible for this all? Look at the nation. Everyones appears helpless as the nation continues to burn. You have no face to show to people of your own country. You have left them totally vulnerable to the marauding COVID19.
While the country’s first case of COVID19 was reported in Kerala on January 30, 2020, the top Indian scientists had said that the Indian strains of novel coronavirus originated between November didn’t take the virus seriously and it didn’t do any planning for handling the pandemic which was fast spiraling out of control.
Coronavirus spread like a forest fire across the country and reached its peak in August-September 2020. Nearly after four months, the deadly second wave of the COVID surged from the last week of February 2021 with religious celebrations, including, Kumbh Mela, and huge rallies for winning elections in various states.
The central government did not do any preparation to face the second wave of the COVID19 even after closely seen the havoc of the first wave of the virus last year, there were no lessons learnt.
On Saturday, 12 people, including a doctor, died with COVID-19 at Delhi’s Batra hospital, due to lack of oxygen, and On April 23, the 25 COVID-19 patients died at Jaipur Golden Hospital, New Delhi for the same reason of “oxygen shortage”.
Hospitals issuing SOS that they are facing medical oxygen shortage.
On Saturday, Delhi’s leading Fortis hospital located in Vasant Kunj issued an SOS on the shortage of medical oxygen in the hospital. The hospital said it has only six hours of oxygen supply remaining as it sought help from concerned authorities.
On April 23, Delhi’s Gangaram Hospital also raised an alarm on the shortage of medical oxygen in the hospital. It had said that 25 patients had already lost their lives in the hospital due to oxygen shortages.
The heart-wrenching videos showing how people’s agony with COVID-19 in the country, without oxygen.
A man who lost his wife and unborn child on the same day due to covid, spoken to BBC that this system has failed him. He told that his wife was shunted between covid and non-covid hospitals. Precious time was lost in multiple tests, instead of saving her.
In a viral video, he screams in a hospital and wails that this is death dance moments after he finds that his wife and his unborn child have been claimed by covid.
He also told BBC that the disease can be dangerous, but our system is even more dangerous, it has scared us and he knew he needed to raise his voice against the system.
In an article for the US-based Time Magazine, journalist Rana Ayyub made a scathing attack on the establishment, ” Prime Minister Modi’s strong man regime that has ignored all caution is responsible for India’s lack of preparedness to tackle the second wave”.
According to the Times of India, a forum of scientific advisers set up by the government warned Indian officials in early March of a new and more contagious variant of the COVID19, five scientists who are part of the forum told Reuters. Despite the warning, four of the scientists said, “union government did not seek to impose major restriction to stop the spread of the virus”.
Even After warnings from scientists, the government organized religious events like the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, Uttrakhand which was visited by at least 9.1 Million unmasked people. In thousands, devotees are testing COVID positive after taking a dip in the Ganges River as part of the Kumbh Mela pilgrimage.
Madhya Pradesh’s district Vidisha chief medical and health officer BS Ahirwar told Hindustan Times that it is surprising that 99% of people returned from Kumbh in the Gyaraspur area have been tested positive. More than two dozen people who have returned from Kumbh are yet to be traced. It is a matter of concern as they could be super spreaders of the infection.
Vidisha district showed that 60 out of 83 devotees contracted the infection and 22 out of them are missing from the district.
The religious event ‘Kumbh Mela” has become fatal for millions of lives. If the government wanted, it could have canceled or postponed it to contain the covid across the country. Instead, the unwise event was appreciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the members of the Bhartiya Janta Party.
The Uttarakhand Chief Minister declared on March 20 that nobody will be stopped in the name of the virus as we are sure the faith in God will overcome the fear of the virus.
When helpless citizens were begging for oxygen, Modi was addressing poll rallies in West Bengal. Opposition parties and many Indians have criticized him asking whether seeking votes at election rallies is more important than protecting the lives of his people. But as usual, he was silent on this and was completely immersed in his rallies amid a deadly second wave of covid.
Shortage of vaccination on account of export of vaccines in large quantities to many countries.
According to data published by the Ministry Of External Affairs, nearly 6.6 crore doses of our vaccines were exported to more than 95 countries across the world before completing and even starting the vaccination of the Indians, under the banner of the Vaccine Maitri program, since January.
The central government was, falsely, claiming that there was no shortage of vaccines anywhere in the country, while states were begging for vaccines and instead of accepting the bitter truth , the central government started blaming the states and the people for the second wave of the coronavirus.
Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that the second wave was happening “because of the lack of commitment and sincerity on behalf of the people, where they are taking everything so casually and so light manner that nobody is interested in wearing the mask… there’s no respect for the norms of physical distancing”.
The central government allowed a vaccination process for the 18-44 age groups amid lack of vaccines from May 1, but several states have failed to start the COVID-19 immunization for those between 18-44 years, due to shortage of vaccine supplies.
On Saturday, Delhi High Court slammed the central government over the shortage of medical oxygen cylinders in the national capital.
“Much water has gone above the head. Now we mean business. Enough is enough,” a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said during the hearing.
“Do you mean we will shut our eyes to people dying in Delhi?” the bench asked.
As I was writing this on Monday, India recorded 3,68,147 new covid cases and as many as 3,417 new coronavirus-related fatalities, but experts say that numbers are underestimated.
Indeed the Modi government is not responsible for the coronavirus in India, but it cannot be denied that it is fully responsible for the escalating crisis which has been compounded by shortage of vaccines, lack of medical cylinders, shortage of hospital beds, medicines, due to which more people are dying in the country and the numbers of cases and deaths are continuing to rise fast. Every second day it is becoming the world’s highest single-day total of cases.