National People’s Youth Front (NPYF) Nagaland, under the NPP state unit has written to the chief minister of Nagaland pointing out several anomalies with regard to Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) such as state of unpreparedness in dealing with COVID-19 pandemic and demanded that “immediate intervention and radical action.”
In the ‘Open Letter’ addressed to the chief minister, NPYF has claimed that during surprise inspection of quarantine centres, district COVID-19 hospital Dimapur and the BSL-2 (laboratory) at CIHSR, 4th Mile, it discovered “many gross anomalies.”
NPYF said the state government’s management of the pandemic was disappointing as they were totally contradictory to the advertisements and reports provided by government agencies both in the local and social media.
According to NPYF, its observations were also obtained from feedbacks from the general public and frontline workers which suggested gross mismanagement of funds meant for containing COVID-19 pandemic.
NPYF alleged that frontlines workers, especially the medical fraternity were compelled to work overtime for COVID-19 duties and also not paid DA. NPYF also alleged that the frontline medical team were not provided with mandatory PPEs due to shortage of the equipments.
It also alleged that the “COVID-19 Control Room” failed to respond to a crisis on May 19 when a 60-year old patient tried to contact it for medical help. NPYF said it was “highly condemnable” that the patient had to wait for more than a day before a doctor finally attended to his ailment.
It also alleged that most of the frontline workers were not supplied with N95 masks, hand gloves, sanitizers and PPEs till date. It said items presently used by frontline workers were donated by civil societies, NGOs, individuals etc . NPYF demanded to know as to what happened to those equipments which the state government had procured ?
It said even police personnel were not given proper instruction on dealing with public order during pandemic and that they were deployed without protective gears and also given only one-time meal.
NPYF also alleged that drivers of NST buses and other buses during COVID-19 duties were not provided with tea or lunch . It said during off duty hours, the drivers were given “unpalatable” rice and dal only whereas they should have been provided with food pack worth Rs.200 each. The drivers were also sent made to drive on journey through bad roads for 6 to 7 hours and asked to return on the same day.
NPYF also lambasted the gag order on doctors and nurses not to talk to anyone including media to air their grievances.
At quarantine centres, NPYF alleged that norms were flouted and inmates were provided only little assistance. The inmates were to be provided non-veg meals thrice a week but were given only once a week.
It also alleged that some people travelling from Manipur to Nagaland, were made to wait at Khuzama check post for screening for nearly three to four hours. Since there was no one, it said the same people volunteered to be screened at Dimapur quarantine centre but again had to wait for 3 to 4 hours to get registered.
NPYF also expressed surprise that some non-medical staff of other departments were deployed as frontline workers without any training to undertake such a critical job.
NPYF also alleged that when its members wanted to visit the BSL-2 (laboratory) at CIHSR, the director did not allow them to see the works. It said this only indicated a lack of transparency as the proposed BSL-2 set up still has a long way to go before completion. NPYF lamented that the laboratory was still not ready when so many people were arriving Nagaland from various states including Red Zones. It opined that the laboratory in Kohima would not be able to cope up with testing for such a huge number of returnees.
NPYF also regretted about the lack of security in Special Shramik Trains bringing in thousands of stranded citizens of Nagaland. It pointed out that lives of returnees were put at risk by the indiscriminate incident when locals in Bihar forcibly boarded the train.
Most seriously, NPYF said the special trains brining stranded people breached all protocols by halting for hours on end with fans switched off during the stops under scorching sun. It also pointed out that at a certain station, some locals attacked the trains carrying the stranded passengers by breaking windows even in presence of security personnel. In addition, NPYF said the trains did not even provide enough drinking water for the stranded passengers from Nagaland.
NPFY has demanded that the railway ministry and the state government take up the matter and ensure that trains carrying citizens from Nagaland provided safety and timely service.