Dear Prime Minister,

The day you asked all of us Indians to light candles for nine minutes, 50 healthcare workers in India tested positive for COVID-19. Exactly 2 weeks before this incident i.e, when you asked us to clap in honour of the healthcare workers, they appealed on various social media platforms that they don't need claps at this time but are in a dire need of personal protective equipment (PPE). They also stated that they have already appealed to the Health Ministry for the same. Between the claps and candles, there have been several worrisome developments.

We have come halfway through the Janata curfew. We had a glimpse of the real India during this lockdown. The great many workers and labourers in India, who create wealth and provide services in this country, have been abandoned. These migrant workers in the cities were forced to walk hundreds of miles to reach their native places due to lack of food and shelter during the lockdown. Twenty four of these Indian citizens have died of hunger and thirst on their way home. Some of them were seen pitifully waiting for help from the bystanders. Night shelters were flooded. The lockdown shed light on the unequal development, unemployment and pathetic living conditions of the poor and vulnerable in this country. The 'Anand Vihar' incident showed the government's lack of empathy and concern towards these conditions. The country has treated its own citizens in the most inhumane way by spraying pesticides on migrant labourers. The police has used excessive force in many places in the country to enforce the lockdown causing several deaths.

Mr.PM, we don’t know about you but the month's worth of provisions we stocked in our homes makes us feel guilty. We are moved by the plight of the marginalised and migrant workers. We want to bring the conditions of our farmers to your attention too. The crops produced by lakhs of farmers are rotting in the fields as they are unable to transport the produce to the market. While crores of Indians are starving on one hand, we are grappling with the fact that tons of produce is going waste on the other.

You are well aware that 70% of healthcare facilities in India, from small clinics to super specialty hospitals, belong to the private sector. Most of these private hospitals and doctors are dodging their responsibility to provide services during this time of great need. People are having a great difficulty finding proper medical care for daily and emergency medical needs, let alone treatment for COVID-19 cases.

As a country, we have failed in this war against Coronavirus even before the war has ended. The virus is spreading and there is a severe scarcity of personal protection equipment for the frontline healthcare workers. The government has failed miserably in alleviating the suffering of lakhs of migrant workers caused by the unplanned lockdown. Moreover, the way mutual distrust and hatred have been fueled in our country in a time of global crisis is very sad and deplorable.

Dear PM, you could have made an effort to stop the spread of hate without spending a penny but your government turned a blind eye to the situation. There have been hate crimes against people from North-East India and transgender people after Coronavirus outbreak. Since the outbreak, there has been a spread of lot of superstitions, misbeliefs and false advices to tackle the disease, finally leading up to blaming one religion. There was a coronavirus outbreak at Markaz congregation in Delhi. It is a tragedy that could have happened anywhere. At that point of time, there was no lockdown and the flights were not canceled yet. People were still travelling from different countries in and out of India. Let us assume that the government also did not understand the gravity of the approaching pandemic at the time but that has caused serious damage. Consequently, there has not only been an unabated spread of the virus but the country has become divided as a society. Muslims are being name-called as 'viruses' and 'traitors', and they are being attacked. The doctored videos and fake messages that flooded the social media are spreading communal hatred and putting Muslim lives at risk. The personal details including names and phone numbers of people from this community are being shared publicly. The social climate of fear and prejudice is discouraging people with symptoms of possible COVID-19 from getting tested.

Your recent address to the people of India about unity sounded ironic in this context of a divided nation. When people are suffering from a disease, the least we can do as fellow human beings is to have a sympathetic attitude towards them. Instead, we are seeing hatred and insensitivity towards the victims of COVID-19. We hoped that during your address, you would urge people to show sympathy and tolerance towards patients. We have to mention this here as you have failed to do so.

In this situation of crisis, it will not suffice to propose self-restriction as the solution to all problems.  You have a responsibility to answer questions raised by the people of this country. There is a duty bound upon you to give assurance of security to the people and allay their fears.

As you are taking over a leadership role in SAARC, what lessons did you learn from other countries fighting the Coronavirus epidemic? Are you considering the outcomes of research studies that are being conducted in other countries? We would like to know what steps are being taken to manufacture PPE, ventilators and medications to fight the pandemic.

Has the government been successful in identifying the number of migrant labourers stuck in the cities yet? Has there been any effort to enquire about their situation? How effective has the public distribution system been in reaching the people? What actions is the government taking to analyze the situation in the rural sector? Is the government concerned about the farmers and families dependent on agriculture?

In a country with a population of 130 crores, the government has only tested 1,40,000 people so far. If the number of people who travelled to India are in lakhs, the people who came in contact with them may be at least 10 fold. The government has failed in testing and isolating these people. It has failed to provide minimal personal protection equipment kits to the frontline medical staff. The government is expected to operate transparently in all these aspects. It should be working in mutual cooperation with other institutions and countries to fight this pandemic.

In this time of crisis, we are hoping that the government will initiate actions to face the situation with collaboration, solidarity and rational approach while curbing hate and communal politics.

We appeal to the government to take the following steps:

• The government should take steps to uphold secularism and stop the spread of hatred based on caste, region, religion, race and  gender differences. The government should release an official statement addressing the same. The government should take actions against people spreading communal hatred through fake videos and news.
• Personal protection equipment should be provided to all the healthcare workers.
• COVID-19 testing kits should be made available in all Government hospitals.
•  All private hospitals should be taken over by the government to provide health care services to fight the pandemic.
• The government should adequately fund scientific research organizations in the country.
• The government should provide Rs.10,000 and essentials for three months to every family.
• The government should provide food and shelter to all the migrant workers, homeless and orphans.
• The government should take immediate steps to buy grains from the farmers.
• Job security should be provided to all the private employees and orders be issued to the employers to do the same.
• Fruits and vegetables  should be purchased from the farmers and distributed   in the villages.
• MGNREGA funds should be increased.
•  6 hours of work a day  should be implemented  throughout the country.
• Transport facilities  should be made available  to the migrant workers to reach their villages
•  A  commission should be set  up with  experts in the medical field  for development  of public medical sector.
•  A Complete  ban on alcohol should be implemented  after the lockdown period.

 

Allam Rajaiah

Prof G Haragopal

Vimala Morthala

Kavi Yakoob

katyayani  Vidmahe

AK Prabhakar

N Venugopal

Narayanaswamy Venkatayogi

Arasavilli Krishna

Geetanjali

Dr Kasula Lingareddy

Dr Chaitanya Chekkilla

Hemalatha Nellutla

HRK

Katyayani S

Rama Sundari

Kalyani SJ

Chaitanya Pingali

Chaya Mohan

Shiva Laxmi

Anil Dany

Sandhya

Sajaya Kakarala

Aruna Nellutla

Bhargava G

Duryodhana Putcha

KV Kurmanath

Bammidi Jagadeeshwararao

Aranya Krishana

Jugashvili

Varalaxmi P

Saraswate Rama

Udaymitra

Arunank Latha

MV Ramana

Raghavachary

Vanaja C

Srikanth Sodem

Ramki

Padma Kondiparty

Vageeshan

Sridevi

Tarjani

Basith MA

Swtcha

Hima bindhu

Swathi Nukala

Dr Samunnatha

Nareshkumar Sufi

David SA

Kranthi

Uday Kumar

Bhavana GV

Sahaja Korlagunta

Jitta Balreddy

Aravind

Haribabu Korlagunta

Sujatha Nalluri

Devarakonda Subrahmanyam

Abdul Razak Noor Basha

Raghava Ramreddy

Pokala Saikumar

Jyothi Chilukoori

Rajini Nallutla

Bannuru Jyothi

Chinna Venkatesh Katta

Padma Gottiparthi

Ramakrishna Rao

Sumathi Mokkapati

Asanala Srinu

PM Raju

Seshu Korapati

Jhon Korlapati

Swetha Azadi

Bhaskar Yempalli

Venkat Goud

Iqbal Pasha

KC Venkatehswarlu

Gangidi Buchchanna

C Rammohan

A Rajendrababu

Swamy

S Chandraiah

Shaik Akbar

Kodam Kumaraswamy

Lingutla Narendra

Sri Charan

 

- CONCERNED CITIZENS OF INDIA