BJP responds as Delhi govt tells court Kejriwal's Mohalla Clinics can't be used for COVID

After the Delhi High Court (HC) suggested to the National Capital's government to utilise Mohalla clinics earlier set up by the Delhi government, during the raging crisis, BJP's IT Cell Chief Amit Malviya on Wednesday slammed CM Arvind Kejriwal. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Amit Malviya said that the Mohalla clinics made by the Delhi government are of no use during the pandemic. He said, "Mohalla Clinics were never meant to treat, just create a charade of providing healthcare “free” for votes."

COVID-19: Amit Malviya slams CM Arvind Kejriwal

Attacking Arvind Kejriwal further, the BJP leader said that Delhi with approx 90,000 cases is consuming 433.1 MT of oxygen on daily basis (allocation 590 MT) and demanding 900 MT, meanwhile, Mumbai with a comparable case load, consume only 250 MT. Informing that Delhi also has the highest per capita allocation of medical oxygen (61MT), Amit Malviya asked, "Can Arvind Kejriwal better manage oxygen?" He also shared a document comparing oxygen consumption in Delhi and Mumbai.

Delhi HC suggest govt to use Mohalla clinics

When the Delhi HC suggested to CM Arvind Kejriwal-led government make use of Mohalla clinics to tackle the current COVID-19 crisis in the National Capital, the Delhi government's senior advocate Rahul Mehra said that most of these clinics have a single point of entry and exit due to the lack of space. Stating that due to lack of space, social distancing norms couldn't be ensured in Mohalla clinics, Rahul Mehra said the probability of spreading of infection in such setting is high. 

Rahul Mehra said, "There is no waiting area and there is one doctor and a nurse. It is primarily looking into 257 tests."

When Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma asserted that these Mohalla clinics are the foundation of the triage and are a valuable resource, the Delhi government's senior advocate said that these clinics wouldn't be of use at all. He said, “It is like a 20-feet container. There are two small rooms. One or two people from the mohalla or the locality come. That’s the very nature. It is meant for that particular community of 1,000 people in the locality."

Arguing further, Mehra has also said that if such clinics are put in to use, they can become super-spreaders and if this happens then the Centre should take the responsibility. He said, "We don't want numbers to go up." The bench, however, underscored, “COVID is not an affluent society problem. It can happen to people who go there.”

The court also noted that there was a major dearth of information on COVID-19. It asked the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to step in. “People are not even aware of the symptoms and what they are expected to do when there are symptoms. There is a complete lack of information. People have oxygen concentrators but don’t know how to use it, how to keep it. People are using them in AC rooms. What kind of concentrators one should go for. How to use an oxygen cylinder. ICMR should step in. You should circulate audio clips, video clips, graphics,” the court said.

Coronavirus situation in Delhi

For the second consecutive time, the Delhi Government has extended the lockdown in the national capital for another week. The city has been under lockdown since April 19 and has been struggling to contain a fresh wave of infections clocking over 20,000 new cases every day.

In a positive piece of news, amid oxygen shortage, Centre's 'Oxygen Express' has reached Delhi on Tuesday. The Oxygen Express reached Okhla from West Bengal's Durgapur city. The six oxygen tankers contain over 120 metric tons (MT) of oxygen meant for COVID-19 patients in Delhi's hospitals. 

As India continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, Delhi has so far recorded over 12,32,942 positive case,s out of which, 11,24,771 have successfully recovered and 17,752 have died. As per the latest reports from MoHFW, in the past 24 hours, 19,953 new cases, 18,788 fresh recoveries and 338 cases have been reported. Currently, the total number of active cases in the state is 90,419. 

(Image: PTI, ANI)