Rs 20,000 Cr Central Vista Project Justified In Time Of A Pandemic?
The fight against the coronavirus in the country has not been able to reach the decisive phase due to a paucity of resources. The health infrastructure is so weak that neither are ambulances available for patients nor are there enough hospitals.
On the other hand, doctors and healthcare workers (who are being called ‘frontline warriors’) are dealing with coronavirus patients without basic facilities like protective gear.
The sluggish pace of coronavirus testing in the country is also due to a lack of resources. In such an atmosphere, the Central government is going ahead with its ambitious Central Vista project, which will cost Rs 20,000 crore. As part of this project, a new Parliament, Central Secretariat and new buildings for the Prime Minister and Vice-President will be constructed. Questions are being raised that if this amount of Rs 20,000 crore is spent on health services, will it not prove to be a massively-effective salve for crores of people during the economic downturn and coronavirus pandemic? There is no dearth of such patients in the country whose deaths took place because they could not reach the hospital on time. These lives can be saved by an ambulance equipped with an advanced life-support system, which costs Rs 20 lakh. This ambulance is loaded with the best medical facilities such as a defibrillator, pulse checking system and oxygen cylinders. While 10,000 such ambulances can be purchased with Rs 20,000 crore, 20,000 ambulances equipped with a basic life-support system can be bought for the same amount. According to one estimate, there are only 48,000 ventilators in the country. Ventilators are very crucial in the fight against the coronavirus because it attacks the lungs and the patient experiences difficulty in breathing. Using Rs 20,000 crore, 1 lakh 30 thousand ventilators can be purchased. While coronavirus testing is free in government hospitals, in private hospitals this test costs Rs 4,500. If five members of a family have to undergo coronavirus testing, they will have to spend upto Rs 22,000, which is a large amount for a poor person. From the estimated amount due to be spent on the Central Vista, 42 lakh 50 thousand coronavirus testing kits can be purchased. The simple question is whether improving the health infrastructure is included in our priority or not? Watch the video storey here:
The sluggish pace of coronavirus testing in the country is also due to a lack of resources. In such an atmosphere, the Central government is going ahead with its ambitious Central Vista project, which will cost Rs 20,000 crore. As part of this project, a new Parliament, Central Secretariat and new buildings for the Prime Minister and Vice-President will be constructed. Questions are being raised that if this amount of Rs 20,000 crore is spent on health services, will it not prove to be a massively-effective salve for crores of people during the economic downturn and coronavirus pandemic? There is no dearth of such patients in the country whose deaths took place because they could not reach the hospital on time. These lives can be saved by an ambulance equipped with an advanced life-support system, which costs Rs 20 lakh. This ambulance is loaded with the best medical facilities such as a defibrillator, pulse checking system and oxygen cylinders. While 10,000 such ambulances can be purchased with Rs 20,000 crore, 20,000 ambulances equipped with a basic life-support system can be bought for the same amount. According to one estimate, there are only 48,000 ventilators in the country. Ventilators are very crucial in the fight against the coronavirus because it attacks the lungs and the patient experiences difficulty in breathing. Using Rs 20,000 crore, 1 lakh 30 thousand ventilators can be purchased. While coronavirus testing is free in government hospitals, in private hospitals this test costs Rs 4,500. If five members of a family have to undergo coronavirus testing, they will have to spend upto Rs 22,000, which is a large amount for a poor person. From the estimated amount due to be spent on the Central Vista, 42 lakh 50 thousand coronavirus testing kits can be purchased. The simple question is whether improving the health infrastructure is included in our priority or not? Watch the video storey here:
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