A day after ASHA workers were attacked in Nizamabad, another such incident was reported in Adilabad when they were assaulted by some residents who reportedly returned to the district after attending the Tablighi Jaamat religious gathering in South Delhi’s Nizamuddin.
The latest incident of assault comes a day after MAUD minister and chief minister’s son K T Rama Rao warned of serious action against the people who disobey the law of the land. In a Tweet on Thursday, K T Rama Rao wrote, “Incidents of doctors & staff being attacked in Gandhi hospital & officials being obstructed in Nizamabad are intolerable & will be dealt seriously by Telangana Govt. These individuals are not only ignorant but they are a potential hazard to others also,” he wrote in his Twitter account.
However, on Friday, a group of ASHA workers were attacked in Adilabad’s when they visited a residence in Shivaji Nagar. The ASHA workers were deputed to collect data on people who have coronavirus symptoms. Some residents, who reportedly attended the Tablighi Jaamat religious gathering in Nizamuddin last month, snatched the survey register from one ASHA worker and tore down the pages. ” According to norms, we were asked to note down names and phone numbers of those who had returned from others states to Telangana in the past few days and get them to undergo a routine medical check-up from a doctor. The locals came out of their houses and they caught us. They even snatched the survey registers and tore down the pages,” a visibly shaken ASHA worker said.
The ASHA workers were deployed by the Telangana government to conduct door-to-door survey in localities and collect data on people having cough, cold and fever symptoms. Since mid-March, the ASHA workers have been conducting surveys to gather information about those who are likely to be affected by Covid-19 in the state.
In Nizamabad too, ASHA workers were attacked by locals in Nizamabad on Thursday. Some residents who returned to Nizamabad after attending the large religious congregation in Markaz Masjid in South Delhi’s Nizamuddin refused to be tested for signs of corona virus. They chased away the health workers and volunteers.
The Telangana government had recently appealed to the people to voluntarily disclose if they attended the Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin between March 13-March 15 and give their blood samples to the government hospitals to check for corona virus. These attacks against ASHA workers and medical professionals at various hospitals including Gandhi Hospital come at a time when all-out efforts are being made by the governments to combat the spread of virus. The ASHA workers, doctors and paramedical staff have been dedicatedly working and supporting the governments’ efforts to contain the spread of the virus, risking their own lives. Unless the governments take punitive measures, these attacks will continue and a day will come will the medical professionals will refuse to work. If that happens, the big hope (asha) to contain the virus will be lost.
