Mumbai, India (WNews) – It’s 10 PM on just another Tuesday; Sonali and Akash, who live opposite one of the more prominent hospitals in Mumbai, can’t seem to find sleep as they hear helpless cries from family members of patients waiting to get into the hospital. Akash walks to his window to take a look and realizes that the number of people waiting outside the hospital has more than doubled since he got back home from checking in on his parents, who live just down the road.
At 1 AM, Sonali and Akash still find it hard to sleep as the wails get louder and louder as patients, still waiting to get into the hospital, are running out of their limited supply of oxygen.
India is in the midst of a deadly wave that has infected hundreds of thousands per day and killed many thousands more per day.
A week ago, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked state governments to lockdown only as a last resort in response to the lethal second wave. In a televised address to the nation, “States have to try to avoid lockdowns as much as possible; the focus needs to be on effective micro-containment zones.” Most of India is rural, and migrant labourers flock to the city to make money.
Regarding migrant workers, the Prime Minister said, “State governments should assure migrant workers they will receive vaccination and soon work will resume.” Several states, including Delhi and Maharashtra, have since declared lockdowns.
Addressing the shortage of oxygen, Modi said, “There should be new oxygen plants in the states, one lakh new cylinders should be delivered, oxygen used in industrial units should be used for medical purposes, oxygen rail, every effort is being made.” On April 25, Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs, tweeted thanking Modi for allocating funds to install 551 PSA Oxygen Generation Plants in public health facilities across the country through the unaudited fund, PM Cares.
A big decision to curb the oxygen crisis and help the people in need. I thank PM @narendramodi Ji for allocating funds to install 551 PSA Oxygen Generation Plants in public health facilities across the country through PM CARES.https://t.co/GBeiAbBgxc
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) April 25, 2021
This tweet was met with much disarray from the general public, with people questioning why India’s home minister would thank the Prime minister for doing his job. In recent times, the prime minister has been criticized for the handling of the pandemic, authorizing the Hindu gathering Kumbmela and still conducting political rallies for the upcoming elections, breaking all Covid related guidelines as recommended by the World Health Organization. The majority of these devotees and supporters have been pictured without masks and not practicing social distancing.
In a scathing attack on the Modi government, a cabinet minister, Nawab Malik, in a series of tweets, accused the center of asking medical export companies not to supply Maharashtra, Remdesivir, a much-needed drug needed to cure Covid-infected patients. “It is sad and shocking that when the Government of Maharashtra asked the 16 export companies for Remdesivir, we were told that Central Government had asked them not to supply the medicine to Maharashtra. These companies were warned, if they did, their license will be cancelled, tweeted Nawab Malik.
This decision has caused a shortage in supply. Speaking exclusively to WNews, Andre, who has five family members currently critical in hospital, said, “It’s been terrifying trying to find the right medication. Hospitals have run out, pharmacies have run out, I don’t know what to do. Can you help? The drug costs Rs. 899 (CAD 15) and is now selling for a premium of over Rs. 3500 (CAD 60) each, if available. I am willing to pay for it. I need 30 vials in all, six for each family member.” According to Malik, “This is a dangerous precedent, and under these circumstances, Maharashtra Government will have no choice but to seize the stock of Remdesivir from these exporters and supply it to the needy.” At the time of writing, the drug remains in short supply, and it is not known how the state government will address the shortage.
With India seemingly becoming the new hotspot for the outbreak of Covid-19, a spotlight has been shed on the government misrepresenting numbers. A source close to the matter said, “It is a known fact that the government is misrepresenting numbers. In my opinion, the reported numbers are 30% lower than the actual.” The Hindustan Times reported that at least 824 people have been cremated or buried in Bhopal in the last 12 days, according to the administration of crematoriums and graveyards in the city state’s official Covid-19 death toll in the same period is 34.
As per Gujarat’s health bulletin, the Prime Minister’s home state, the total number of deaths was reported as 78. But from seven cities — Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, and Bhavnagar — 689 bodies were cremated or buried following COVID-19 protocols on the disposal of bodies.
To silence critics, the ruling party – BJP, has adopted a draconian approach by asking Twitter and Facebook to remove posts that criticize the government. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued an order to Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms to remove more than 100 posts under the pretext of spreading misinformation and creating panic. After #resignModi posts mysteriously disappeared on Facebook, they were made visible as people started to protest Facebook’s compliance. Twitter was ordered to censor nearly 50 tweets of opposition leaders and journalists through a “legal valid request” made by the government. This is not the first time the government has resorted to censorship.
In February, hundreds of Twitter accounts supporting the farmer protests were blocked. These were subsequently reactivated but Twitter partially fulfilled another notice of noncompliance issued by the government to block thousands of accounts. India, a 73-year-old democracy, was earlier this year downgraded by the Freedom House from “free” to “partly free.” A blocked tweet by an opposition leader, Moloy Ghatak, in West Bengal, read, “India will never forgive PM Narendra Modi for underplaying the corona situation in the country and letting so many people die due to mismanagement.”
With new vital revelations stating that the virus is now airborne, India’s medical system is little prepared to bear the burden of its 1.8 billion people at risk. India has now posted record-highs for a week with new cases surpassing 300,000, and Wednesday’s death toll spiked by 3,263. The official numbers are seen as an underestimation by the health community world over.
Arash, a student, living in Canada, tried to coordinate getting a hospital bed for his father who took seriously ill with the virus for two days before finally managing to get a bed. His mother, who also contracted the virus, had to isolate herself and take the required medication. “As a student, staying up nights to coordinate medication and check on my mum, and ensuring my father gets his shots at the hospital, is extremely stressful”, a nervous Arash says. “Luckily, the community back home has stepped up and helped out by leaving food at my parent’s house door or risking themselves by going out to buy an injection because it is out of stock at the hospital.”, he continues.
Speaking exclusively to WNews, he said, “This government had time to prepare for the second wave but instead declared victory over the virus and relaxed rules, and this is the outcome. There is no one else to blame for all the loss we’re seeing.” Shocking pictures emerged from the nation’s capital, New Delhi, showing mass cremations as the covid infected deceased bodies were placed next to each other and set on fire. The loss India has seen bears a heavy burden on the ill-handling of the pandemic.
Despite the hardships India’s citizens currently face, a new wave of heroes has emerged. Stories of people selling their gold and valuables just so their neighbours can access oxygen cylinders are circulating in the media. India did not vote these heroes in, but these heroes show the political class what it takes to be there for people at their worst, which somehow never happens to be during the election season.
Disclaimer – The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of WNews nor W-World Media. Names have been changed to conceal and protect identities.
