Lack of information transparency hinders fight against virus in Odisha

ROURKELA: Lack of transparency in information sharing coupled with complex administrative structure seems to have emerged as a bottleneck in the virus fight in the worst-hit Sundargarh district.Unlike other civic bodies in Odisha, the daily Covid case count in Rourkela is not shared by the municipal corporation with public. Rourkela city accounts for 60-70 per cent of the daily total cases of Sundargarh district and sometimes, the figure goes even higher.

Under an order from Sundargarh Collector Nikhil Pawan Kalyan, no officer is authorised to share even the basic Covid data. The Collector through his twitter handle @DMSundargarh routinely shares the number of new infections but without case details or break-up of Rourkela.

A resident of Rourkela Bhaskar Patra claimed that about 90 per cent of the population continues to be callous as they do not exactly know what is happening in their neighbourhood. “Keeping the larger population deprived of the clear and prevailing situation is not a good strategy. The fight against Covid-19 would be fruitful only if people are kept informed so that they realise the real threat,” he said.

As if lack of transparency was not enough, the complex health administration structure at Rourkela is also of little help. Reliable sources informed that the additional district urban public health officer at Rourkela looks after Covid-related issues of the Steel City. However, the official does not directly report to the chief district medical officer but to Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) Commissioner or ADM.

However, the situation is different in urban bodies like Bhubaneswar where the municipal corporation is in charge of the system, providing for a clear strategy in information sharing and coordination.Like Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar, the Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) has special and independent administrative status. The RGH director’s post is above the CDMO. Sources said there seems to be absolutely no coordination between the CDMO and health authorities at Rourkela.

With the Collector virtually controlling everything related to Covid management and implementation from Sundargarh town, which is situated 100 km away from Rourkela, effective administrative coordination remains a major problem.Besides, the RSP-run Ispat General Hospital (IGH) is an independent entity and Covid-related issues there are not timely shared with the district administration.