When there are agencies like World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF working actively in the state, as many as 2,000 workers deployed on the ground, how could data be fudged was a simple query from Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath while speaking to an English daily.
Yogi, known for his straightforward action-oriented style, said it was entirely implausible that data fudging could’ve been done with global agencies monitoring the conditions round-the-clock.
“The entire system is transparent. Uttar Pradesh would, perhaps, be the first state where all hospitals are under central CCTV surveillance. I can monitor the happenings in a hospital in Gorakhpur through my tablet in Lucknow,” he told the interviewer.
Bodies In River
When questioned about the visuals of bodies floating in the Ganga and buried in the sands and whether they reflected under-counting of the bodies, CM Adityanath explained the Hindu tradition behind that.
He said the bodies were discovered during pre covid times also, in 2014 and 2015 and then also the media has made hullabaloo over them without understanding the customs that go back to the ancient times regarding the dead.
“Floating dead bodies in the river is seen as a means to salvation by some. If you look at traditions followed by monks, all three types of tradition co-exist — cremation, burial as well as jal pravah. These traditions exist even among those who are married, as well as in communities like Dasnami Sampradaya, Giri, Puri. Communities residing by the rivers especially take to this kind of practice,” said Yogi.
He said people were made aware of it during the Nmami Gange campaign, and now the different committee has been made, which will be headed by gram pradhans who will make sure no more bodies are floated in the river.
Gearing Up For Third Wave
Talking about how Uttar Pradesh is managing the second wave of coronavirus, CM Yogi informed that his administration is proactively working not only against the second wave, but they are also prepping for the third wave, with all necessary actions.
“UP has built post-COVID wards in every district for free treatment to those reporting complications even after their COVID report came negative. We are also building 100-bed and 25-bed pediatric ICUs in medical colleges and district hospitals, respectively. We have also begun to train manpower for the same,” he informed.
He said the government is trying to overcome the hesitancy people have with vaccination and testing by “putting up posters in villages of people who have vaccinated themselves. We have set up common service centers (CSCs) in each of the 58,000 gram panchayats, manned by skilled personnel for documentary and online work. Basically, people can get themselves registered and vaccinated at one place.”
Takes Kejriwal To Cleaners
Beyond that, CM Yogi launched a direct attack on Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for playing petty politics in between a pandemic.
He said both UP and Delhi were allotted 700MT oxygen despite the vast difference in their population, but UP never complained; instead, it focused on effective distribution and allocation with proper auditing.
In Delhi, despite getting adequate oxygen, there was mismanagement, adverse events took place. The courts had to intervene,” he said.
“We never opposed Delhi getting oxygen, like from the Inox plant in Modinagar in UP. We were able to manage from other sources allotted by central govt, from Jamnagar, Uttarakahand, Jamshedpur. We made sure there was no crisis in the state and we lent to Delhi as well,” he added.
CM said that it was irresponsible to spread panic amidst the pandemic, “A situation of panic was created due to which even those who did not need it, became desperate for oxygen.”
Typically Yogi, he asked when there were no elections in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh or Rajasthan or Delhi, they still accounted for more than 80% of the active cases, but nobody held them accountable.
Meanwhile, talking about the developments, The chief minister said that while the pandemic had rendered a setback to the economic growth of the state, the government was focusing on developing infrastructure on a war footing – be it Purvanchal Expressway, Ganga e-way, Bundelkhand e-way etc.
While mentioning that even WHO has applauded their model of a door-to-door survey, testing, and provision of medicine in rural areas, he added that NITI Aayog had asked other states to replicate it.
