Covid-19 is one the biggest challenges that India has faced in the past two years. From big cities to rural areas, the pandemic has left everyone helpless. Amid these difficult times, organisations like the Population Foundation of India (PFI) have been helping to spread awareness on various key healthcare issues. NewsX recently interacted with PFI’s Executive Director Poonam Muttreja as part of its special series NewsX India A-List, wherein she spoke about PF I’s efforts towards community building and sensitisation in detail.

Speaking about PFI’s efforts towards spreading awareness on key healthcare issues, especially family planning, in the rural sector amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Poonam Muttreja said, “PFI took the responsibility of spreading the Covid-related information, as the government asked us to help develop awareness content when India went into the lockdown. We simultaneously spread the awareness about the family planning and reproductive sexual health issues.”

“We found that reproductive health services were stopped because of the onslaught of the pandemic as the healthcare workers were engaged with fighting the virus on the frontlines. We did a quick field survey and got back to the Government of India, and then we wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, and the Health Minister explaining what was happening on the ground,” Muttreja added.

“Women weren’t getting services during the deliveries, family planning services had stopped too. We used the data and the health ministry took one day to write a letter to every health secretary in every state to start at least minimal services. The ministry emphasized over the issues like family planning, and put them under essential health services.”

Speaking about the modus-operandi of PFI, Muttreja said, “We do policy work and give feedback to the government in a constructive way with evidence. We persuade them to change policies if needed.”

“We spread the awareness about the methods of contraception. We send the material to states across the country through SMS, WhatsApp messages. For instance, in states like Bihar, where we do a lot of work. We requested the government to distribute condoms to migrants who were arriving in large numbers. We have noticed that the minute migrants go for a holiday during Chatt, Diwali, or any other festivity, that’s when pregnancies happen,” she added.

“We supported adolescent girls. In Bihar, we set up a bank of sanitary pads. Usually, schools distribute sanitary pads. But, with the closure of schools and the primary healthcare centers, the distribution of these goods was hampered. We made sure, that amid the pandemic, things reached the right people at the right time,”

PFI was helping the government in using digital media across the country to spread the awareness about the issues like Covid-protocols, violence against women, and the need for preventing pregnancies. Pandemic had made things difficult.

“It was excruciating because everything was shut,” Muttreja said.

“We made a very encouraging film about the frontline health workers, which millions of people saw. Globally and in India, it went viral. People like Smriti Irani, Minister for Women and Child Development, tweeted about it,” she added.

When asked about how the foundation has been driving attention towards the need for vaccination drive in rural areas, Muttreja said, “We recognise that there is vaccine hesitancy and that people don’t know the positive and preventive aspects of the coronavirus vaccine. We developed behavior-change content and we are using it through our state offices across three states. We have to educate people,”

“Right now, there is a huge need to educate people about the importance of the vaccination and the myths and misconceptions revolving around it,” she added.

“We are in touch with a large number of NGOs, which have set up groups. These groups are going to fieldwork and spread the information about the vacciniton and when the vaccines are available,” Muttreja said while speaking about the importance of vaccine awareness.

Moreover, PFI is translating material about vaccination in Hindi. For instance, the CoWin app is published in English, the language which is not widely spoken as such in India.

“We are translating the app and putting it out in Hindi,” Muttreja said.

Talking about her journey, she said, “Since I was in school, I got sensitised to the fact that, we the middle class people, are immune to poverty and suffering around us. We just think that it happens in the villages. Once, I was exposed through the domestic science lab worker to a lady who earned Rs. 50. She was a widow and her children couldn’t go to school. I gave her my pocket money so that her five kids could go to school. You have no idea what pleasure it gave me and I have never looked back since.”

“I respond to the needs of the most marginalised communities in the institutions I have set up, and the movements I have been involved with. What struck me most was the system of untouchability. I started by designing and working with leather workers on developing products. In villages, I discovered that women had no livelihoods or agency so I started working on women empowerment and I set up an NGO called Dastakaar, which works with artisans, and we brought women in a big way,” she said.

“My thing is to bring people to work with and Dastakaar had a great team of people. I’m still associated with the NGO. When Indira Gandhi was assassinated and there were riots in Delhi against the Sikh community, I jumped in and we started an organisation called Nagre. So, basically, you have to respond to what is the crisis in the community and what the real issues are,” Poonam Muttreja signed off.

In what will go a long way in ridding the country of the menacing second wave of the pandemic, the attempts to earn political brownie points amid the unprecedented times should be shunned. The need of the hour is to put an immediate halt to the ongoing mudslinging and levelling of one allegation after the other against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government. So, what is needed is the constructive role of the political parties in the Opposition which can come into play by backing PM Modi to help the government in its efforts aimed at dealing with the pandemic efficiently. Prioritising effective governance and public health over political point-scoring will be laudable at this point.  

This is exactly what we saw in other countries of the world, where concerted efforts, cutting across the party lines, have been made to fight the Covid-19. From the USA, France, Spain to the UK, everywhere, a narrow political agenda was set aside by everyone to strengthen the hands of their respective leaderships in the battle against the Coronavirus.

This is not the right time to point fingers at each other— as has been said repeatedly not only by the political leadership of the country but also by several significant members of the medical fraternity. The message is loud and clear: a bid to derive political mileage—out of whatever is happening in every state of the country— diverts the focus of the frontline warriors from the key task of fighting the pandemic and guarding the people against its havoc. Merely any state has been from the onslaught of the Covid-19. Needless to say that the governments of almost all the political parties are grappling with the corona-induced crises, and there is a possibility of every single party being questioned on the issue of proper strategy and a sufficient healthcare system. Recently, Congress and other parties, complaining about ‘faulty’ ventilators allegedly sent by the Centre to their states, ended up getting embarrassed when it was found that ‘they did not recalibrate settings according to geographical location. So, what does this suggest? Does it not suggest that political parties are deliberately trying to send out a wrong picture about the central government in a bid just to gain their narrow political agenda?

Similarly, a section of media and social media was flooded with the story claiming an RSS leader allegedly being left in the lurch after which he ‘succumbed to corona’. But it came to light that he was helped by the BJP and RSS workers. Was it not an attempt to politicise the matter to project the government and leadership in a poor light?  

Likewise, if one goes by a report, then the AAP leader and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s demand— to give what he called vaccine formula to all the companies in India to prepare vaccines— seems to be a statement aimed at scoring political points only. A report appearing in the media says, “Firstly, in the process of vaccine production, there is no formula. It’s a process that involves enough R&D. Even if someone acquires the information, it will take nearly a year to start producing the vaccine in the BSL-3 facility.” Now, how can one not describe Kejriwal’s statement as a political one?   

One can recall how SP leader and former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav refused to get inoculated, saying that it is for the BJP. His statement was an outright attempt to send out a message to the minority community, obviously out of political desire.

With the political parties in the opposition apparently seeing political opportunity in crisis, who is going to be hit the most? It is the common people. There is no denying that this kind of political opportunism in myriad ways, at some level, hinders the ongoing battle which has been launched by the Modi government to eliminate the coronavirus and put the economy back on track. Many believe that political parties are duty-bound to back the Prime Minister and his government for his ‘efforts on war-footing’.   

But the question is whether any kind of finger-pointing is going to solve the problem? Will the trading of charges not defeat the real purpose? All this kind of political agenda should be immediately stopped. Analysts and political observers firmly believe that the political moves and messages targeting the Modi government either on social media or elsewhere are detrimental to the objective of defeating the pandemic.

It is undeniably difficult to lead in a crisis, and leading the political opposition is not easier either. But it is the responsibility of the opposition parties to be supportive of the leadership of the government of the day. Many European countries witnessed how the major opposition parties supported governments’ calls for unity and backed most of the decisions in what was called the unprecedented time of crisis.   

The whole world saw how opposition in France and Germany cooperated with their respective governments during the pandemic. Similarly, coordination was exercised between the opposition and government in Italy.

Another European nation Poland was a glaring example where the opposition stood away from the exercise of punching holes in the government’s decisions. The government and the opposition in Poland were on the right foot. The government’s tight and strict restrictions met with support from all the sides.  Spain was among the worst-affected countries by the coronavirus pandemic, and most of the opposition leaders in the parliament supported the government’s bid to tackle the exigencies posed by the Covid-19 virus. In the USA and the UK too, the governments received relentless freedom and support.

With all this in view, the opposition in India should also go by what the world has depicted so far. However, the respective situation in India so far is not encouraging.  The political faultlines over the Covid second surge have sharpened. A dozen of major opposition leaders wrote a joint letter to PM Modi asking the Centre to procure vaccines centrally from the global and domestic sources to ‘begin’ a free, universal mass vaccination campaign across the country. Ironically, these parties have made such demands at a time when the global tenders have already been sent by the different states for procuring vaccines from abroad. Political observers and crisis managers do not see such moves as a positive development that could do any service to the people of the nation. What they need to do is come out with constructive and enriching suggestions, sans politics.

 Anshuman Rao is a political analyst and former Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Electronics Development Corporation. Views expressed are personal.

With the Opposition trying to take a political mileage out of the ongoing crisis, the common man is going to be hit the most. There is no denying that this kind of political opportunism is going to hinder the ongoing battle which has been launched by the Narendra Modi government to eliminate coronavirus, and put the economy back on track. It’s the duty of each political party to back the Prime Minister and his government in these Covid times.

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday termed the meagre MSP hike for paddy as not only grossly inadequate but an insult to the farmers who have been fighting for their rightful dues through their anti-Farm Laws agitation for the past over six months.

At a time when the farmers continued to put their lives on the line with their prolonged protest at the Delhi borders, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led Central Government has, instead of putting the balm on their wounds, added insult to injury with the MSP announcement, said the Chief Minister.

Captain Amarinder slammed the anti-farmer Government at the Centre for consistently failing to protect the interests of the farmers and its apathy for their problems. The less than 4% hike in MSP of paddy was not enough even to meet the increased input costs, he pointed out, citing the extraordinary hikes in diesel and other costs over the past one year. The increase in MSP of other crops was also quite measly, he added, noting that the small hike in the base price of Maize would discourage farmers from going in for the much-needed crop diversification to save the precious and depleting water resource.

The Chief Minister noted that the Swaminathan Committee, whose recommendations the central government has adamantly refused to accept, had clearly suggested that MSP should be “at least 50% more than the weighted average cost of production”. Far from implementing the recommendations of the Committee in the interests of the farmers and the nation’s food security, the BJP-led Government had passed the anti-farmer Farm Laws that are clearly aimed at destroying India’s farmers, he lamented.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Thursday inspected the on-going work of the Smog Tower at the Baba Kharag Singh Marg, Connaught Place. He said that under the leadership of CM Arvind Kejriwal Delhi is the first state to establish a smog tower at Connaught Place. Rai said that this ambitious project will be completed within 15th August this year and then the experts will study the outcomes of this tower. He said that the Delhi government is making this tower on a pilot basis and based on the success of this work such towers will be built across the Capital. He said that the DPCC, IIT Mumbai, NBCC and Tata Project are also working jointly to build this smog tower.

“Under the leadership of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal the Delhi government had launched a war against air pollution. The Delhi government has taken several steps to combat the air pollution in Delhi such as bringing the tree transplantation policy, anti-dust pollution campaign, electric vehicle policy, red light on Gaddi off the campaign and many others. The Delhi government is the first state government to come up with a solution to stubble burning by using bio decomposer. We are also holding a mega plantation drive across the Capital. The Delhi government is working based on a 10-point action plan to combat air pollution,” said Gopal Rai.

“Under this plan, Delhi is the first state to establish a smog tower at the Connaught Place and today I have come here to inspect the work. The work has been delayed due to the second wave of the COVID pandemic but today I have directed to escalate the work. We are making this tower on a pilot basis and based on the success of this work such towers will be built across the Capital,” he added.

“The total cost of this tower is Rs. 20 crores. The height of this tower is around 25 meter. It has a capacity of air purification of 1000 cubic meters per second. The Delhi pollution control committee (DPCC) of the state government is the nodal authority of making this tower. However, IIT Mumbai, NBCC and Tata Project are also working jointly with the Delhi government to build this tower”. “China has such smog towers but the technology of this tower is different. The towers of China take the polluted air from the bottom and emits the purified air from the top. But this tower works in the opposite direction. This tower has around 40 wings which will emit the purified air at 10 meters above the ground. The effect of this purified air will be till 1 square km area. This tower will also help to get rid of PM 10 and PM 2.5,” said Rai.

With Jammu and Kashmir witnessing hot days of summer, traffic authorities on Thursday said that they have allowed the traffic on the two alternate roads between Srinagar and Jammu vis a vis Sinthan- Kishtwar road, and Shopain-Rajouri road aka Mughal road.

On Thursday, officials told The Daily Guardian that the traffic was also resumed on Srinagar-Leh highway as it was earlier closed for vehicular traffic because of landslides and fresh snowfall.

Traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu highway was also resumed on Thursday as the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) closes the traffic on this road every Wednesday for maintenance purposes.

Alternate highways connecting Srinagar and Jammu remain closed for months because of the lack of tunnels that could facilitate navigation during the winter months also.

Recently, the central government has assured that they will start the work on a tunnel at Pir Ki Gali area of Rajouri district so that the Mughal road becomes a fair-weather road.

Giving details about the movement of the traffic, senior officers of the traffic department manning Srinagar-Jammu highway on Thursday said that Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs) will ply from Jammu to Srinagar. Security forces convoys will also ply from Jammu to Srinagar.

Delhi Development Authority has put its Draft Master Plan for Delhi-2041 in the public domain for inviting objections and suggestions from the public for 45 days. The vision for MPD-2041 is to “Foster a Sustainable, Liveable and Vibrant Delhi by 2041”. “The government has increased the focus on urban development by embarking upon a comprehensive programme for planned urban development in 2014, designed to bring about a transformative change in the lives of people with inclusive, participative and sustainable approach”. The draft master plan envisions a more “sustainable, liveable, safe and inclusive capital with housing for all and better economic opportunities”.

Apart from boosting the economy, the draft plans measures to tackle air, water, and noise pollution, as well as measures like ‘refuge points’ and self-sustained isolated residential areas to deal with pandemics.

“High built densities, poor quality and age of built stock further increases the vulnerability. The COVID-19 pandemic brought into focus the need to create self-contained and mixed-use areas with decentralised infrastructure”. The master plan is a roadmap for the future development of the city. It assesses the present condition of the city and works as a guideline to achieve the desired development. The 2041 plan looks at the development of new housing in the peripheral areas thanks to land pooling and green development initiatives, while also focusing on urban regeneration and densification in the city centre and around transit corridors with rental and small format housing. A more pragmatic land use of existing industrial areas is planned, with thrust on service sector, IT, tourism and hospitality.

The plan recognises cultural hotspots such as Shahjahanabad, the Central Vista and India Gate lawns, Connaught Place, Hauz Khas and Mehrauli as places of intense public activity, attracting locals as well as tourists. Other specific hubs with a concentration of socio-cultural activities shall be identified (for example Mandi House, Lodhi Institutional Area and Art precinct, Dilli Haat, Dastakaar Haats, etc.). Efforts will be made to improve the interaction of spaces with people in these areas.