“Currently, the situation is such that there can be a call for help any time, we have to be vigilant 24 hours to help the public,” said Rahul Kumar, the district magistrate of Purniya district in Bihar. That, in a nutshell, underlines the readiness of all government officers and employees across the country amid the 21-day lockdown in place to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

As common people remain confined to their homes during the lockdown, the officers and staff of both the Centre and all state governments are working day and night to minimise the disruption caused to daily life.

“There are 10-12 teams in the district shouldering various responsibilities. While a team is engaged in a survey to identify people coming from outside, another one ensures people don’t leave their homes. Currently, more than 4,000 people are self-quarantined in their homes in the district, under the supervision of ASHA Bahus, Anganwadis and ANMs in the villages,” Rahul Kumar told Gaon Connection on the phone.

An isolation ward with 1,000 beds has been prepared in Purniya district. The control rooms are running 24 hours. Ration and vegetables are being delivered to homes. To avoid any starvation, disaster relief centres have been set up for the destitute and daily wage labourers.

Gaon Connection spoke to dozens of officers and employees in several states like Haryana, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh and all of them said that the focus is on arrangements in every district to avoid inconvenience to the people. Special emphasis is on making people stay indoors, supplying them with essential goods and to ensure no one is hungry, they said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 announced that the country would be in a lockdown for 21 days — from March 25 to April 14. The sudden announcement caught many unawares, forcing many labourers to take to the streets to go back to their villages. Government officers and employees, who were busy trying to enforce the lockdown, now had the additional responsibility of dealing with this mass movement that posed many challenges.

They had to ensure people on the roads reached their districts safely; they had to make arrangements in each district to isolate these individuals for 14 days; they had to make provisions for door delivery of ration and vegetables to ensure people stayed indoors, besides the supply of essential items.

“At present, 10,500 people have come from outside. The entire detail is with the administration,” said Manvendra Singh, the district magistrate of Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh. “These people have been kept in schools, panchayat bhawans and in their houses for 14 days. In the district, there are only 33 doctors, instead of 130 allotted. So, we are seeking the help of private doctors,” he said.

Singh said 14 teams of doctors have been set up in the district. “There are two vehicles in each block to shift people to hospitals if required. In a community centre, a 30-bed hospital is being built where a positive case can be kept if needed,” he said.

After the lock down, millions of workers took to the streets.

Dr Adarsh Singh, district magistrate, Barabanki, in Uttar Pradesh, receives people’s text messages telling him about the medicines that sick people require. Despite his busy schedule, he makes arrangements for the medicines to be delivered to the houses of patients. Many have commended his work on social media.

The officials, however, are quick to point out that no amount of work will b enough if people don’t cooperate. “The administration does not run with a few people, it runs with the cooperation of the public,” Munish Sharma, additional labour commissioner of Haryana, told Gaon Connection over the phone. “At the moment, we are making full use of local capacity. For example, companies that made garments are now making full bodysuits for the protection of doctors and nurses. Those who make beauty products are making certain generic medicines,” he said.

Sharma said the government employees are dedicated and don’t count the
working hours. “If we see the country as our home, we will not count the working hours,” he said.

Sharma said the movement of people in huge numbers is a matter of concern.“Wherever the workers are stuck, we are ready to help them. Arrangement has been made for everyone’s stay and food. There is, however, one request to all that at a time such as this, people observe restraint. Stay inside houses, you can call the control room when you need help,” he said

“The workload on government officials is formidable,” said Aparajita, assistant commissioner (under training), Gurugram. About 50 community centres have been set up in Gurgaon for labourers. Anyone stranded can call the control room for help and they would be then taken to the nearest community centre.

“The good thing is a lot of volunteers have come forward to help the
administration. With everyone doing their bit, these testing times too shall pass, with the help of all,” Aparajita said.

Abhishek Khandelwal, former AIIMS doctor, has volunteered to offer medical services to people. “At this time, doctors are incredibly busy. People should avoid going to a hospital unless it is necessary,” he said. “I have formed a team of young doctors who have shared their numbers on social media. For any health information, people can get free advice from these numbers through calls or WhatsApp,” he said.

Khandelwal, 27, from Raipur district of Chhattisgarh, is now studying in Nagpur. He said his team is ready to help in 16-17 districts of Chhattisgarh and is available 24 hours of the day. “Our area is such that it takes a long time to reach one place from another. So, we created a team 10-15 days ago with the help of some of my seniors and juniors. I have been constantly sharing their numbers on social media and people are calling us for medical advice,” he said.

As the fight against coronavirus continues, there is concern that not sufficient testing is being done to detect all cases. There are many states where thousands of people have come from outside, but the screenings have been limited. In Jharkhand, more than 84,000 people have come from outside, but only about 200 have been investigated for coronavirus. Some say this could be the reason why many places have not reported a single case.

“Not a single case has been declared positive in the district,” Aditya Ranjan, deputy development commissioner of West Singhbhum district, said. “It is a relief, but the more important concern now is to ensure no one goes hungry. Most daily-wage labourers are here without any work because of the lockdown. So, 71 centres are running under the Chief Minister Dal Bhath Scheme to provide them food. Earlier, Rs 5 was charged for a meal under the scheme, but now it is free.”

According to Aditya Ranjan, most of the district administrative machinery is engaged in food supply. Masks and sanitizers are being made by self-help women groups at minimal rates. Two vehicles, called ‘restaurants on wheels’ feed 300-400 people daily. Ration has been given to every family. A 24-hour control room has been set up to help the people. A team of 80-90 doctors has been deployed for medical services and 120 Aapda Mitr (disaster aides) are being trained in the district to help out in emergency situations, he said.

Additional Labour Commissioner Munnish said: “The people of South Korea and Japan quickly recovered from it because the people there were already living in that mode. Our companies now need to think that as the work is going on from home at this time, similar actions might be taken later for the general good.”

Some officials have pledged a day’s salary to help fight the outbreak. In Kanpur Dehat district in Uttar Pradesh, officials of the gram panchayat
department, village development department and district village development agency department have given their one-day salary to efforts to contain the epidemic. Due to the efforts of chief development officer Joginder Singh, Rs 11,20,542 was collected and given to Janapad Rogi Kalyan Samiti. Now, even teachers of the district have agreed to offer a day’s salary.

“Brick kilns in the district were not closed to ensure labourers did not flee. They have been given ration at the furnaces. Community kitchens are running. All the kotedars have been directed to give ration to all. Every panchayat is being sprayed with disinfectant. A red strip is being tied on the hands of labourers coming from outside, so that they are all identified and isolated,” Joginder Singh said.

“The most challenging task is to make people understand that they should not get out of their houses. They are being extended every facility, yet some people are venturing out. Now, 4,000 labourers have come from outside, they have been held for 14 days at government schools, community centres and panchayat bhawan, but they insist upon going to their homes,” he said.

In Jharkhand’s Chattarpur block in Palamu district, however, the officials don’t face that challenge. “The good thing is that we have people staying at home. The goods are reaching their homes. Most houses have been provided with three months’ ration. In the block, 96 percent of the people have ration cards, 3,000 people who do not have ration cards have applied for it and are currently getting 10 kg of rice,” said Narendra Gupta, sub-divisional officer.