MoS Home claims there is a ‘gap’ in surveillance in Bengal

If you thought the war of words between the Centre and the West Bengal government was over, you are wrong. On Wednesday, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote another letter to Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha pointing out how the Inter-Ministerial Team that visited the state found brazen violations including people playing football and bathing in rivers while a complete lockdown was in force.

“Instances of overcrowding in bazaars, with poor sanitation; free movement of people in large numbers without masks; bathing of people in rivers; people playing cricket and football; serious laxity in enforcing lockdown measures in Containment Zones; plying of rickshaws etc. without any restrictions, are grave violations of lockdown restrictions and social distancing norms,” read the letter sent by the Home Secretary which is scathing to say the least.

The letter says that the state is testing way too few people given the population of West Bengal while the mortality rate in the state is the highest in the country. He also mentioned lockdown violations in Kolkata and Howrah by “specific groups” while speaking about attacks on corona warriors including the police force.

Bhalla claims there is a “gap” in the surveillance and contact tracing of positive cases. “The state has not furnished any data regarding the number of households and individuals contacted and surveyed for signs for COVID-19 symptoms,” he alleged.

He also asked for a public grievance redress mechanism for COVID-related queries. Bhalla also asked the Bengal Chief Secretary to ensure the qualities of the PPEs conform to the ICMR standards. While he asked the state to pay attention to the poor and the marginalised, Bhalla also asked for steps to “adequately compensate” the workers in the tea gardens in Darjeeling and Siliguri.

The inter-ministerial team’s visit started off on a confrontational note as the Bengal government blocked them only to be allowed after the Centre reminded the state of its obligations. Earlier the MHA sent multiple letters to the state raising concern over its handling of the COVID-19 situation.