The current coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe has affected the lives of millions around the world, but while some can afford the luxury of staying in their air conditioned houses, others are not as fortunate. Case in point, India.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprised everyone (including himself, probably) last week when he announced a TOTAL lockdown of the country’s 1.3 billion people. Given the circumstances, it would’ve been understandable except the dude announced it with a mere four hour notice period.
Needless to say, it’s not exactly been smooth sailing since then. The brunt of it is being felt by India’s migrant workers, who have been left jobless, hungry and with no choice but to walk hundreds of kilometres to their native villages.
This large scale movement has led to fears of the virus spreading and as the government ramps up its efforts to disinfect the country, Indian health workers have caused outrage after they took the disinfecting to a whole new level.
In a viral video being shared on social media, health workers in protective suits can be seen spraying disinfectant directly at a group of migrant workers sitting on a street in Bareilly, a district in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
Who r u trying to kill, Corona or humans? Migrant labourers and their families were forced to take bath in chemical solution upon their entry in Bareilly. @Uppolice@bareillytraffic @Benarasiyaa @shaileshNBT pic.twitter.com/JVGSvGqONm
— Kanwardeep singh (@KanwardeepsTOI) March 30, 2020
The blatant disregard for the well being of migrant workers here could not be more obvious. The perpetrators are health workers, they know very well what the contents of the disinfectant are and yet here they are, practically giving them a bath in chemical solution. This is not only cruel but also inhumane.
The top government official in the district took to Twitter to explain that the health workers had been ordered to disinfect buses being used by the local authorities but in their gusto had also turned their hoses on migrant workers. He went on to tweet that action will be taken against those responsible for this.
Migrant workers are already left with nowhere to go, with most villages turning them away to stem the outbreak. The footage is the latest shocking development in India’s second class treatment of migrant workers after another video posted on social media showed workers literally locked up and begging to be freed.
India’s handling of the crisis could not be worse and it’s come to a point where even the Prime Minister is seeking for forgiveness for it. Speaking during his weekly radio address, the PM said there was “no other way” to stop the rapid spread of the virus.
“Especially when I look at my poor brothers and sisters, I definitely feel that they must be thinking, what kind of prime minister is this who has placed us in this difficulty?
“I especially seek their forgiveness,”
“Possibly many would be angry at me for being locked in their homes.
“I understand your troubles but there was no other way to wage war against coronavirus… It is a battle of life and death and we have to win it.”
India has reported 1071 cases so far, with 29 deaths, which may not sound so bad now but given the fact that many experts are worried about the sheer lack of testing being done in the country, that number could be a lot higher.
With efforts underway to ramp up testing, hopefully the worlds second most populous country manages to get things under control.
