Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan on Saturday said the State government must improve basic facilities in Primary Healthcare Centres (PHC), intensify COVID-19 testing and increase awareness about the spread of the virus in rural areas and provide treatment on a par with the cities.
In a statement, Mr. Haasan said rural areas run the risk of experiencing a spike in cases. “PHCs do not have proper facilities, infrastructure, protective equipment and medical professionals in several villages. When big cities that have modern hospitals are struggling to cope with the impact of COVID-19, the State government must think about what would happen when cases increase in rural areas,” he said.
The MNM chief said State government must intensify precautionary measures to prevent the disease from spreading in rural areas. “If the disease spreads to rural areas, the country’s basic needs might be affected. It is not enough to say India’s soul lives in rural areas but ensure that such areas are free of the disease,” he said.
Mr. Haasan also criticised the State government for forcing the Greater Chennai Corporation school teachers to undertake COVID-19 precautionary work by calling them ‘Street Warriors.’
He said that Corporation school teachers were being made to go door-to-door to gather data. “Those who don’t want to do this work are being threatened with a memo and are being made to do this job without being given proper gloves, masks, protective gear and sanitisers. This is condemnable,” he said.
Mr. Haasan also said it was not right to ask teachers to buy their own protective gear and work without special wages or transport allowance when the government was paying non-governmental organisations for doing the same.
