Head of Chief Minister Medical assistance cell, Om Prakash Shete broke down while apprising about the plight of the citizens of the state, in a video gone viral
Om Prakash Shete, Head of Chief Minister Medical assistance cell, broke down while apprising about the plight of the citizens of the state. In a video that has gone viral, Shete could be seen speaking about the pandemic situation in Maharashtra which remains the worst affected state in the country.
“I feel very bad, cannot sleep at times. A temple built once upon a time has now fallen,” he seemed to be saying metaphorically while relating to the worsening COVID-19 situation in the state.
Shete who has also been the former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to ex-CM Devendra Fadnavis, said, “The common man is unable to save himself. The discretionary power lies with the CM, it is up to him how he uses it but now people are suffering which is in front of you.”
“We have served 17 lakh people, now people are dying. Every day 600 people die. I feel exhausted after replying to people. I don’t have any hopes left hence I have gone to court, that is my last hope. If the common man cannot be saved then…(he sobs) feel bad for them. Many people are dying, why they are dying. It is my request to the court, to remove this technical error,” he said as he broke down in front of the media.
COVID-19 in Maharashtra
Maharashtra has been reeling under the COVID-19 crisis as the spread of the virus taking a toll on the administration. The state’s tally has risen to 12,63,799 with 33,886 deaths due to the virus. On Wednesday, the state reported 21,029 new cases, which formed 24% of the new infections reported in the country. Also, the 479 people died in Maharashtra due to the virus on Wednesday which was a mammoth 42% of the total (1,129) deaths reported in the country on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual meeting on Wednesday with the seven states including Maharashtra which had the maximum impact of COVID-19. The Centre has been leading the fight against COVID-19 in the country in close coordination with the states. The Union government is supporting them to ramp up healthcare and medical infrastructure in view of the pandemic. The Centre is also regularly deputing multi-disciplinary teams to states and UTs to support and handhold them in matters of containment, surveillance, testing and efficient clinical management of the positive cases.
Centre has allowed states to spend up to 50% money from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to boost infrastructure such as quarantine facilities, testing laboratories, oxygen generation plants and purchase of ventilators and PPE kits to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
