How stigma forced municipality chief to transport bodies in a JCB, municipality chief suspended

National

A video of municipality officials on the Srikakulam district transporting a dead body of a 72-year-old using a JCB in the district’s Palasa went viral on social media on Friday. When one looks deeper, this video raises a much more important question that even the Hon’ble CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has been raising time and time again.

According to the version of the district authorities, who later went onto suspend the Municipal Commissioner and others for the act, the neighbours of the deceased refused to wait until an ambulance arrived at the spot, due to which the functionaries on ground had to take the drastic step.

This is the ‘stigma’ surrounding Covid-19 that YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has been talking about for over a month now in every single speech. The same was also spoken about by Telangana Health Minister Etala Rajender during a press conference when he said ‘People aren’t allowing the bodies of those who succumbed to Corona to be cremated in burial grounds which is very disturbing’.

It was on this very aspect that the Union Health Minister Dr.Harshvardhan personally appreciated the AP CM for taking a progressive approach. Post this, the state authorities were also seen adopting various measures to spread awareness.

This incident and multiple other similar incidents reported from across the country raise a larger question connected to citizen participation in the war against Corona. While the Government needs to held accountable if it fails to provide appropriate care, the citizens also need to support the Government at each step