Political instability in MP made state a sitting duck

The almost three-weeklong political instability witnessed in Madhya Pradesh during March 220, following sudden ‘disappearance’ of a number of Congress MLAs had literally rendered the administration here ineffective leading to the current crisis in the state due to coronavirus outbreak.

Madhya Pradesh has recorded eight deaths caused due to coronavirus and 119 Covid-19 patients so far.

The preparedness by the state health department to deal with the situation has seriously been affected owing to absence of health minister in the then Kamal Nath ministry for nearly two weeks since the then incumbent health minister was among 22 Congress MLAs who had raised a banner of revolt against then former CM and subsequently resigned from the Assembly.

“There was hardly any meeting of health department to review the preparedness to deal with coronavirus outbreak in the state when MP was passing through political turmoil. Former sate finance minister Tarun Bhanot held a less than ‘half-anhour’ meeting to take stock of the situation in the dying hours of the Kamal Nath government. The meeting was more symbolic than a meaningful one”, a senior officer in the state health department here told this newspaper on Friday on the condition of anonymity.

“The Centre was frequently nudging the then Kamal Nath government to gear up to face the situation. But, the former Chief Minister was more preoccupied with saving his government than acting on advisories by the Centre then”, the officer said.

As a result of it, no mechanism to combat the virus menace could be put in place by the then state government, sources said.

“There was no plan to establish labs for testing samples and create isolation wards in hospitals for suspected coronavirus patients. The entire administration was literally groping in the dark about its future course of action to deal with the situation at the time”, sources said.

A one-man-ministry headed by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took over the reins of state administration on March 20.

“The disease is spreading its tentacles to new areas in the state. The state however is yet to enhance the capacity to meet the challenge”, a health worker said.

“MP currently has six testing facilities. The state has a population of 7.3 crore people and needs at least 25 testing labs to test coronavirus cases,” Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, an NGO extending its helping hand to deal with the situation, noted.

“Rate of testing is still low in MP compared to the increasing cases. The state needs to increase its capacity at the level of sample collection as well as testing facilities. It is crucial to set up at least five testing facilities per region so that all the 52 districts in the state are covered”, S.R. Azad of the Abhiyan said.

As of April 1, the state government’s health department has reported a total number of

16,709 PPE kits, 74,380

N95 masks, and a total of

2,073 ICU beds and 836 ventilators across government hospitals, medical college hospitals and private hospitals in the state.

Meanwhile, a senior IAS officer of the MP government was reported to have tested positive for coronavirus. However, no official announcement in this regard has been made by the state government so far.

Covid-19 has claimed lives of eight people in the state.

Indore continues to remain hotspot of virus in the state, with the city reporting seven fresh confirmed cases on Friday. With this, total number of Covid-19 patients in Indore climbed to 89. Chhindwara reported a confirmed case for the first time on Friday. A

36-year-old man in Chhindwara tested positive for coronavirus. Nine out of 52 districts have so far reported confirmed cases.

● No mechanism to combat the coronavirus menace could be put in place by the then state government

● Rate of testing is still low in Madhya Pradesh compared to the increasing cases

● Covid-19 has claimed lives of eight people in the state so far