“The central government neither consulted us before enforcing the lockdown nor has it been able to handle the situation properly. We are looking at an economic downfall due to the central government’s poor planning,” Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel told The Indian Express on Wednesday. The Chief Minister sought that additional funds be deposited in Jan Dhan accounts as part of the Centre’s relief package for weaker sections in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. “The central government has decided to send Rs 1,000 for each family. That is not enough. Had it been Rs 1,000 per person, it would have been of some help. We have written to the PM, requesting financial assistance for the poor,” he said. Saying that the central government had failed to manage the ongoing health crisis, Baghel said, “The central government should have stopped international flights long before they actually did. We were getting information about the spread of the disease. Right after the US president Donald Trump left, the country could have proactively stopped international flights and we would have avoided the crisis right now.” “Right now, all revenue generating exercises for the state have been stopped. So many workers across industries have left. Getting them back and ensuring that the industries start functioning again will be an added burden. So many states have decided to impose wage cuts. No state would be happy in doing that. In Chhattisgarh, we are going to pay our employees, but the financial burden will be too much to bear,” said the Chief Minister. Baghel said the central government issued the lockdown order in haste and it is becoming problematic for the state government to implement. “Who is bearing the brunt of the decision? Who has to implement the order and ensure that the public is well cared for? When the state government has to do all the work, why were we not consulted? We would have put our points forth and maybe this migrant situation could have been better handled,” he said. The Chief Minister has also written to other states, requesting them to take care of Chhattisgarh citizens stuck in different parts of the country. “I have said that all the migrants in the state are our guests. We are taking care of them and ensuring all help. I have requested other chief ministers to do the same for our citizens stuck in their areas,” he said. “We are looking at a financial crisis in the near future. The only way out, according to me, is to ensure that the Rajiv Gandhi Nyay Yojna is enforced across the nation,” Baghel said. The Congress-led state government has already extended testing criteria for COVID-19, but Baghel alleged that the Centre is not helping them. “The central government’s only job is to provide testing kits and PPEs, which they are failing to do. In India, very few people are being tested. In Chhattisgarh, however, we want to do more testing,” he said. On Wednesday, state Health Minister TS Singh Deo wrote to the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, requesting guidelines on the ‘use and purchase of rapid antibody testing kits’. The minister sought ICMR’s help in using the rapid kits for early detection of the virus. “An expanded testing regime is necessary to contain the spread of pandemic,” Singh Deo wrote. Here’s a quick Coronavirus guide from Express Explained to keep you updated: What can cause a COVID-19 patient to relapse after recovery? | COVID-19 lockdown has cleaned up the air, but this may not be good news. Here’s why | Can alternative medicine work against the coronavirus? | A five-minute test for COVID-19 has been readied, India may get it too | How India is building up defence during lockdown | Why only a fraction of those with coronavirus suffer acutely | How do healthcare workers protect themselves from getting infected? | What does it take to set up isolation wards?
