COVID-19: Central teams flag non-cooperation by WB govt, suggest stricter lockdown measures

Alleging non-cooperation by the West Bengal government, two central teams visiting the state to assess the COVID-19 situation on Saturday took umbrage at a top bureaucrat's remark that officials cannot waste time by accompanying them and wondered whether the ruling dispensation would take responsibility of their members' safety.

In a fresh set of letters to Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha, the two teams which are in Kolkata and in Siliguri in North Bengal flagged several instances of non-cooperation regarding providing logistical support and other relevant information.

The inter-ministerial central team, led by senior bureaucrat Apurba Chandra, said it is yet to receive a response from the state government to the letters it has written to Sinha since its arrival in the city on Monday.

Chandra also sought details about testing, quarantine and contact tracing of the Tablighi Jamaat meet returnees from Delhi's Nizamuddin area, based on the data provided by the Union government.

"Four letters have been written to the state government till today. No response has been received till date... The chief secretary of West Bengal has been widely reported in the media to have stated that the IMCT is free to visit anywhere, and the state government cannot waste its time by accompanying them.

"The above stand is a violation of the order by the Union Home Ministry and the state government is expected to provide logistics support and facilitate all field visits," Chandra said in one of the two letters to Sinha on Saturday.

"The stand of the state government on facilitating the visits of the IMCTs and ensuring the safety and security of the team members as also providing information and records may be made clear through a written communication, rather than through media...," he added.

The central team has made queries on 10 aspects of the health department, including quarantine and lockdown measures. Although a presentation was made, a hard copy of that has not been furnished yet, he said.

In another letter to Sinha, the team in North Bengal, led by senior bureaucrat Vineet Joshi, said a larger number of field officers is required to monitor and provide feedback about the effectiveness of various measures undertaken by the state government.

"As an immediate measure, it is suggested that stricter implementation of lockdown is absolutely necessary to avoid any further outbreak...," Joshi said.

He said additional details were sought during discussions with divisional commissioner, district magistrate and CMO Darjeeling on April 22 and April 23, but are yet to be provided.

"A meeting sought with the police commissioner could not materialise as requested. The IMCT would still request you to facilitate the meeting. Lot of details are required from his side regarding implementation of the lockdown... I shall be grateful for an immediate response as larger public interest is involved," Joshi said.

"The IMCT is thankful to you for extending support to visit a few places today (Friday), albeit late afternoon which forced the IMCT to change its plans," the letter by Joshi to the chief secretary said.

The central team had written to the West Bengal government on Friday, seeking a detailed report on the functioning of the coronavirus death audit committee and a meeting with its members, expressing displeasure at the arrangements in hospitals and quarantine centres.