PANAJI
Aam Aadmi Party has chided the MLAs and elected representatives of Goa for deserting the people during the Covid crisis. Informing that it is AAP volunteers and common citizens who are responding to desperate pleas of help from distressed Goans, AAP-Goa convenor Rahul Mhambre criticised those who were active only before elections alleging they have now completely abdicated their responsibility after getting elected.
Mhambre described an incident in which a patient’s appeal to the local MLA for getting a hospital bed fell on deaf ears, and the patient passed away in the house itself.
“The further irony is that if these politicians require medical attention themselves, they will be the first to demand VIP treatment, that too at the cost of the same taxpayer who they have left in the lurch now,” lamented Mhambre.
Saying that merely putting photos on Tika Utsav posters or issuing orders for extra-judicial local lockdowns is not sufficient, Mhambre appealed to the CM to decentralise the Covid handling effort to the village level, and ensure every elected representative from MLA to ZP to councillor to panch be given specific tasks.
He suggested the creation of isolation centres at the village level connected to PHCs, CHCs and even private hospitals and clinics and said the government could take help from temple/church halls, school and community halls to create such infrastructure, as many people do not have rooms to isolate due to which the virus is spreading at a fast pace.
Mhambre stated that AAP workers have been handling all types of requests, from hospital beds, oxygen, and ambulances to food, medicines and oximeters. He informed that so far more than 100 people had availed of AAP’s Oximeter Seva, all of whom have applauded the party’s timely initiative after shortage of the government kits and of oximeters in the open market.
Expressing frustration that the CM and Health Minister are continuing to blame the people for high number of deaths, when the fact remains that people are stranded outside hospitals due to non-availability of beds, oxygen, ICUs and ventilators, Mhambre pointed out that the web portal that was opened up after AAP’s consistent demand to inform about availability of beds, is already down after just two days.
He demanded that instead of birthday and festive wishes, the government publish all emergency and contact numbers of nodal officials at Covid hospitals, and other important life-saving information in print and digital media on a regular basis, so that people can have the information when they need it.
