‘Bathing in rivers, playing cricket’: MHA on lockdown violations in Bengal

It exhorted the state to increase random testing in crowded clusters.

Drawing from the observations of the two central teams sent to Kolkata and Jalpaiguri, the union home ministry spotlighted that Bengal’s response to Covid-19 has been characterised by a very low rate of testing. It further highlighted instances of lockdown violations reported from the cities.

Vegetable vendors ride in a truck as they going to market, in Kolkata on Wednesday. (ANI Photo) (ANI)

“The response to Covid-19 in West Bengal has been characterised by a very low rate of testing in proportion to the population and a very high rate of mortality of 13.2% for the state, by far the highest for nay state, this is a reflection of poor surveillance, detection and testing in the state,” said the letter.

It exhorted the state to increase random testing in crowded clusters.

“Instances of overcrowding in bazaars, with poor sanitation; free movement of people in large numbers without masks; bathing of people in rives; people playing cricket and football; serious laxity in enforcing lockdown measures in containment zones, plying of rickshaws etc without any restriction; are grave violation of lockdown instructions and social distancing norms,” noted the letter.

The MHA also drew state’s attention to the poor community awareness, especially among labourers as a cause of concern.

It urged the state to bridge gaps in surveillance and contact tracing of positive case.

“Indefinite delays in testing results has further affected the contact tracing process and has put patients under high risk. A string surveillance and testing regime coupled with confidence building measures and effective use of Aarogya Setu app could help in curtailing the spread of the virus,” the ministry noted.