Covid Crisis: Helpline in Jharkhand

 

The CPIML Helpdesk being run from Ranchi also held a press conference on 26 April to highlight the state government’s inadequate arrangements and lack of preparedness. Patients and their family members are unable to get timely and adequate support. The party assistance booths are being run at many places in Jharkhand. MLA Vinod Singh is constantly running around with the families of Covid affected people to provide help in every possible way. He is regularly visiting hospitals in his constituency as well as arranging various kinds of material supports for the needy.

During last five days the Helpline in Ranchi received 523 calls out of which our activists were able to resolve only 280 of them. There is huge logistic scarcity prevailing in the state. They are receiving distress calls every 4-5 minute intervals and trying to solve the problem of the callers through party network and other means. Many calls are coming from migrant workers outside the Jharkhand who are trying to help their sick family members in native villages. In most of the cases there is demand either for hospital bed, or Oxygen or Ventilator which are highly inadequate in numbers.

The private hospitals in Jharkhand are charging exorbitantly from the poor and needy patients. Central and State governments are still busy in holding each other responsible for the chaos, while the concerned officials and government helplines most of the time remain unresponsive. CPIML has asked the state government to engage each and every medical professional present in the state in Covid relief work. Still many doctors are deputed on different administrative works.

The government health centers are mostly ineffective in serving pandemic affected people. The Jharkhand government had failed to build Oxygen plants in the state despite availability of funds.