Former Minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla on Thursday strongly resented weak defence of J&K Administration in Suprem Court over restoration of 4G internet services in J&K. He said at a time like this when there is a spread of a global pandemic and the nation has been locked down in order to contain the contagion, granting limited access to internet facilities by restricting the speed to only 2G in J&K is unreasonable, he said.A combination of the advent of COVID-19 and the accompanying lock-down has created a situation where the right to health, for its effective fulfilment, is dependent on the availability of an effective and speedy internet.” Various public health practitioners, medical professionals, and doctors have repeatedly expressed their concern about wasting precious time trying to download the latest studies, protocols, manuals and advisories on treatment and management of COVID 19. In some cases, doctors are not able to access these resources at all, due to the internet speed being too slow to download heavy files.
With outdated digital infrastructure such as 2G internet access, facilities such as telemedicine and online consultation, which are otherwise necessary at a time when social distancing is required to be observed, are impossible, Bhalla said.Stating that “effective and speedy internet is an indispensable tool in the struggle against the COVID-19 epidemic”, Bhalla also adds that the right to internet has been recognized by the Government of India itself as an essential service. Restricted internet access is directly impacting the lives of the residents of Jammu & Kashmir, he said.He argued that with 2G internet in place, schools are unable to impart education online, and employees are unable to work from home. “Even access to justice has been affected, since many people may be unable to approach the Hon’ble Jammu & Kashmir High Court through virtual modes of communication/video conference facilities for urgent relief, without fixed line internet connectivity.
Bhalla urged the administration to evolve a robust mechanism to reach out to remaining stranded people of J&K, stranded in various parts of the country.“The humanitarian approach should form part of the strategy while implementing the vigorous implementation of preventive measures and rapid testing to combat coronavirus,” he said, adding even as the lockdown has become the only viable option to fight the pandemic, its fallout on different segments of society was also required to be taken into account for earnest redressal. Till the time some mechanism is put in place for their safe return to homes, the respective state governments should be requested to ensure their safe stay at their present places of abandonment,” Bhalla said. Former Minister also drew attention of the administration towards areas declared as red zones and said this cannot be an unending system.
Once the areas observe necessary quarantine period and adhere to all the obligatory protocols, the sealing should be ended if there are no COVID19 cases,” Bhalla said. He made a mention of areas like Sunjwan and Bhatandi and said if the administration was satisfied about normal situation, sealing should be called off.What is more important they had completed and spend more than 20 days in Quarantine. What is the fun of putting poor people and students in trouble, Bhalla asked.He demanded that all the residents of J&K who are stranded in Jammu and Samba districts should be brought back to their home in view of difficulties and hardships faced by them. It’s not possible for them to continue their stay outside their homes as they are lacking the resources and their families are worried and distressed.
Bhalla demanded enhanced facilities at the COVID CCs and urged the concerned authorities to prepare the Centre as per established guidelines. He demanded adequate facilities should be made available to the patients with proper provisions of adequate number of oxygen cylinders, ventilators besides other equipment and logistics. “All the necessary equipment should be procured so that our CCCs are made fully functional. As soon as equipment are made available to the authorities these should be placed at an earliest in the Centres,” he maintained. He urged the health authorities to be prepared in all respects to meet any eventuality in the wake of this pandemic. “We should be ready at all times and our CCCs should be all set to handle Covid positive patients in case of a surge in their numbers,” he said.
For millions of workers, no income means no food, no security and no future. Millions of businesses around the world are barely breathing. They have no savings or access to credit,” he said.These are the real faces of the world of work. If we don’t help them now, they will simply perish. Measures for economic reactivation should follow a job-rich approach, backed by stronger employment policies and institutions, better-resourced and comprehensive social protection systems. International coordination on stimulus packages and debt relief measures will also be critical to making recovery effective and sustainable.” Bhalla said.
Meanwhile former Minister on Thursday continued distributing Ration and other necessary items among needy and poor families of Gandhi Nagar Constituency at Digiana in Sanjay Nagar and Rani Tallab wards 45 and 46. Prominent among those who accompanied Bhalla include Corporater Dewarka Choudhary, DCC General Secretary Distt Aman Bawa, DCC General Secretary Distt Jatin Vashisht, DCC General Secretary Distt Vijay Singh Chib, Block President Mandeep Singh Sonu, Block President Surinder Singh Dutt, Canchal Poply, RK Kakroo, Gurdeep Singh Kaka, Beant Singh, Ramandeep Kour, Balbir Singh, Madam Meenu Kumari, Madam Madhu, Akash, Sanjay Gupta Murli, Seyal Singh beside others.
Throughout the country, hospitals and medical staff are working round the clock to check the spread of Covid-19. Bhalla demanded adequate arrangements for providing essential items such as milk, curd, cheese, vegetables, fruits, dry ration and medicines on the doorsteps of residents. NGOs and religious bodies are extending a helping hand to the government in this time of crisis. But the daily wagers and people living the below poverty line are the worst-hit. Government has announced financial help for the registered labourers and workers, but nothing has been announced for the benefit of casual, unregistered and unorganised labourers. These people also need immediate help. Necessary steps must be taken immediately to ensure that the people stranded inside their houses due to curfew do not face any hardship. The government machinery and general public must cooperate with each other during this crucial period. Most importantly, the administration must ensure that people are not exploited and fleeced by shopkeepers by creating artificial scarcity of essential items. The government must handle hoarders strictly, Bhalla added.
In this hapless situation, the cooperation of people with the administration and the health authorities is a must. Residents should follow the government advisory on this. Though the curfew imposed by the state government as a precautionary measure is causing some inconvenience to people, people must extend their full support to the government, especially the Health Department, in its efforts to check the spread of Covid. The district administration needs to ensure that public awareness campaigns, as claimed by it, are carried out at the grassroots level. These should not remain on papers only. In nutshell, joint efforts of public, administration and health authorities can help mitigate the effects of Covid-19 pandemic, maintained Bhalla.Bhalla advised the administration to mobilise nurses and doctors under training in various institutes to deal with the shortage of medical personnel. Bhalla asked authorities to take this issue seriously. Doctors, Nurses and other Paramedical and supportive staff giving their best but they need protective measures as lack of protective gear puts our lives as well as lives of patients at risk,” Bhalla said.