Has wrong data been fed to DoNER minister ?
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: July 05, 2021 -

DONER minister Jitendra Singh's statement that there has been progressive decline in Covid-19 cases in all the eight north-eastern states, except Meghalaya, seems to be either intended to lift the spirit of the virus-weary indigenes of the mountainous region or has been misinformed by bureaucrats of the states to cover up shortcomings of the regional governments in timely tackling of the pandemic.

As the union minister who has been entrusted to oversee and expedite infrastructural development in the northeast, it is understandable that Jitendra Singh would prefer to paint a rosy picture of the country's least developed region.

However, it's hard to agree with his observation that the north-eastern states are catching up with the national average in terms of decline in the positivity rate.

The daily virus count might be declining in recent times but the fact remains that barring Nagaland all other north-eastern states have active cases more than most of the densely populated northern and western parts of the country.

For instance, Assam with nearly 25,000 active cases is among the top six states of the country having highest concentration of infected people while Manipur's daily positivity rate hovering above the 10 per cent mark for over a fortnight sums up the ground reality of the pandemic situation in the region.

Similarly, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh having active cases more than many of the mainland states that faced the full wrath of the pandemic in both waves underscore that the situation in the northeast is nothing to cherish about at this juncture.

The only respite for the northeast region amid the virulent pandemic is that with the exception of Assam and Manipur where the collective number of deaths is over 5600, the fatality counts in most of remaining states are in the range of 90 to 300.

Thus, minister Jitendra expressing satisfaction that all the north-eastern states are catching up with the national average in terms of decline in the positivity rate not only contradicts the ground reality but is also unlikely to enliven that denizens' mood other than giving false sense of security and confidence to the regional governments to further ease the containment measures.

It's also ironical that the union minister's claim of improvement in the pandemic situation came hours after the Centre deputed multi-disciplinary teams to Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Manipur in view of the rising cases of Covid-19.

No doubt, the Central government has been extending fullest support to the development deficit north-eastern states and taking up regular measures to help the regional governments in tackling the second wave of the pandemic and develop healthcare infrastructure.

However, he seems to have been fed with false information by officials from the region, who attended the virtual meeting on Saturday.

For people of the region who have been struggling to make both ends meet ever since onset of the second wave led to derailment of normal chores, generalisation of the pandemic situation would be their last wish list.

In Manipur's context, the people would be looking forward to the Central government asking the DoNER minister to visit the state and physically assess the situation rather than virtual consultation with the officials, believing in their tampered presentations and drawing the conclusion that the northeast region's positivity rate of 2.94 per cent is equitable with the state's average daily positivity rate of around 13 per cent in the last few days.

In case of his physical presence in the state, it is quite possible that the government authorities might be compelled to judiciously implement the Centre's directives relating to Covid management measures, including testing, surveillance and containment operations.