Articles by Siddhant Kalra

“Biomedical waste management was already a big challenge before COVID, and now it’s an even bigger one. One of the most common queries we get from member-apartments is on COVID waste management,” says Vikram Rai, General Secretary of the Bangalore Apartments’ Federation (BAF), a collective of over 500 apartment RWAs (Resident Welfare Associations) in the city. Bengaluru has struggled with waste segregation for long. But improper and irresponsible disposal of COVID waste endangers other citizens, more so waste collectors. If you are in home quarantine or isolation, how should you deal with solid waste? Should you segregate waste, and whom…

[In Part 1 of this series, we saw that around 5000 trees are proposed to be axed for the 'Bangalore Surrounding Roads Project' but certain discrepancies hint that the actual number could be higher. In this part, we look at the project's impacts and why citizens are worried.] "I was in Hesaraghatta the other day and an electrician asked me why I wasn't protesting tree felling on the Nelamangala-Doddaballapura road, just a little distance away from there. He asked me, don't the ministers and bureaucrats need air and water too?" says Mahesh Bhat, photographer and faculty at the Srishti Institute…

Since the start of this year, there's been much discussion about the ‘Bangalore Surrounding Roads Project’, for which thousands of trees around the city would be axed. The Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd (KRDCL) had proposed this road-widening project to decongest the city's peripheral roads, and to better link different parts of Bengaluru Urban and Rural to the Kempegowda International Airport. Six roads, spanning a total length of nearly 155 km, are to be widened for the project. Though these roads are mostly outside BBMP limits, the tree loss would have severe, long-lasting impacts for the city. But there's been…

In an online meeting with apartment RWA representatives on August 14, BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad clarified doubts on COVID management. The meeting covered the current rules on containment zones, festival permissions, waste management, quarantine and isolation guidelines, etc. BBMP Special Commissioner (Finance & IT) Rajendra Cholan, and Special Commissioner (Solid Waste Management & Animal Husbandry) Randeep D also attended the session. Following are some key questions answered at the meeting. Q: Will houses with COVID patients continue to be barricaded? Having received multiple complaints from citizens on inhuman barricading of COVID-positive houses, Manjunath clarified this practice would no longer…

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಪ್ರಕರಣಗಳ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿದ್ದರ ಹಿಂದೆಯೇ ಕೇಳಿಬಂದ ಬಹುಮುಖ್ಯ ದೂರು ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗಳ ಹಾಸಿಗೆ ಕೊರತೆ ಮತ್ತು ಚಿಕಿತ್ಸೆ ನಿರಾಕರಣೆ. ಇತ್ತೀಚೆಗೆ ರಾಮನಗರ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಚಿಕ್ಕಮುದವಾಡಿ ಪ್ರಾಥಮಿಕ ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ಕೇಂದ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಚಿಕಿತ್ಸೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ತೊಡಗಿದ್ದ ವೈದ್ಯ ಡಾ. ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್ ಎಸ್.ಟಿ.  ಚಿಕಿತ್ಸೆ ದೊರೆಯದೆ ಕೊನೆಯುಸಿರೆಳೆದರು. ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಮೂರು ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗಳು ಅವರನ್ನು ಒಳರೋಗಿಯಾಗಿ ದಾಖಲಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ನಿರಾಕರಿಸಿ ಹಿಂದಕ್ಕೆ ಕಳುಹಿಸಿದ್ದವು. ಇಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲಾ ಆದ ಮೇಲೂ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಮಾತ್ರ ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಚಿಕಿತ್ಸೆಗೆ ಅಗತ್ಯವಿರುವ ಹಾಸಿಗೆಗಳು ಲಭ್ಯವಿವೆ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಲೇ ಬಂದಿದೆ. ಜೂನ್ ತಿಂಗಳ ಕೊನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಒಂದು ಆದೇಶ ಹೊರಡಿಸಿ ಖಾಸಗಿ ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗಳು ತಮ್ಮ ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯದ ಅರ್ಧದಷ್ಟು ಹಾಸಿಗೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕೋವಿಡ್ ರೋಗಿಗಳಿಗಾಗಿ ಮೀಸಲಿಡಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿತು. ಜುಲೈ 7ರಂದು ವೈದ್ಯಕೀಯ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಸಚಿವ ಡಾ.ಕೆ. ಸುಧಾಕರ್ ಅವರು ಖಾಸಗಿ ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕೋವಿಡ್ ರೋಗಿಗಳಿಗಾಗಿ ಮೀಸಲಿಟ್ಟಿರುವ ಹಾಸಿಗೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಶೇಕಡಾ 78ರಷ್ಟು ಖಾಲಿ ಇವೆ ಎಂದರು. ಆಗಸ್ಟ್ 4ರಂದು ಈ ಲೇಖಕ  ಬಿಬಿಎಂಪಿಯ ಹಾಸಿಗೆ ಲಭ್ಯತೆಯ ಆಯಾ ಕ್ಷಣದ…

In Part 1 of this series, we found that despite government's claims, Bengaluru has only about 3,500 hospital beds dedicated for COVID treatment. In this part, we explore why private hospitals have not complied with the government orders to give up beds and treat COVID patients. In a recent webinar on COVID, Viswa Mohan Tripahi, a resident of Mantri Alpyne apartment, narrated their ordeal trying to find a hospital bed for another resident who had developed symptoms. "The person's oxygen levels were dropping fast. They dropped to the 80s and we couldn't find a hospital for treatment. Everyone was asking…

Since COVID cases started surging in Bengaluru, we've heard of several reports of patients not finding hospital beds or being denied treatment. Most recently, even a COVID doctor at Chikkamudavadi PHC (Primary Health Centre) in Ramanagara district, Dr Manjunath S T, succumbed to the virus after being turned away by three Bengaluru hospitals. Despite this, the government has maintained that there are enough COVID beds in the city. Towards the end of June, government had ordered that half the beds in all private hospitals would be reserved for COVID patients. On July 7, Dr K Sudhakar, Minister of Medical Education,…

Home quarantine is often not possible in low-income settlements. Pic: Raghav Indra The state government and BBMP have been prescribing preventive measures ever since COVID-19 cases started to be reported in Bengaluru. But for the city's low-income communities, these are nearly impossible to follow. For example, you can't wash your hands regularly if you don't have regular piped water supply, or practise social distancing in a densely-populated slum. As the city's health system is overwhelmed, those living in slums are left without basic support. Residents who had come in contact with COVID-positive persons are unable to even self-quarantine due to…

Recently, the state government and BBMP decided to allow apartment RWAs (Resident Welfare Associations) in Bengaluru to set up their own in-situ COVID Care Centres (CCCs). CCCs are facilities where COVID patients with mild or no symptoms can be isolated and monitored. The idea was to relieve the burden on the healthcare system as the city's daily COVID count rose to the thousands. Though the government has released guidelines on community CCCs, setting these up remains a difficult task, requiring RWAs to arrange hard-to-obtain medical equipment and expertise. What are the nuances for setting up a COVID facility for apartments?…

Translated by Madhusudhan Rao ಜೂನ್ 28 ರಿಂದ ಜುಲೈ 5 ರ ನಡುವಿನ ವಾರದಲ್ಲಿ, ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಕೋವಿಡ್-19 ಎಣಿಕೆ 7240 ಹೊಸ ಪ್ರಕರಣಗಳೊಂದಿಗೆ ಮೂರು ಪಟ್ಟು ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿದೆ. ಪ್ರಕರಣಗಳ ಪ್ರವಾಹ ನಗರದ ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಹೊರೆಯಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಅಸ್ವಸ್ಥರು ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಯ ಹಾಸಿಗೆಗಳನ್ನು ಅಥವಾ ಚಿಕಿತ್ಸೆಯನ್ನು ಸಮಯಕ್ಕೆ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಪಡೆಯದಿರುವ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಅನೇಕ ವರದಿಗಳು ಬಂದಿವೆ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಕೋವಿಡ್-ಪಾಸಿಟಿವ್ ಆದರೆ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿಗರು ಏನು ಮಾಡಬೇಕು ಎಂಬ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಭಯ ಮತ್ತು ಗೊಂದಲ ಉಂಟಾಗಿದೆ. “ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಗಿಂತ ಅದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಭಯ-ಭೀತಿಯೇ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಅಪಾಯಕಾರಿ. ಎಲ್ಲಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಮುಂಚೆ ನಾವು ಇದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಗಮನ ಕೊಡಬೇಕು” ಎಂದು ಭಾರತೀಯ ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಯ (ಇಂಡಿಯನ್ ಇನ್ಸ್ಟಿಟ್ಯೂಟ್ ಆಫ್ ಪಬ್ಲಿಕ್ ಹೆಲ್ತ್) ಸಾಂಕ್ರಾಮಿಕ ರೋಗಶಾಸ್ತ್ರ ವಿಭಾಗದ ಮುಖ್ಯಸ್ಥರೂ, ಪ್ರಾಧ್ಯಾಪಕರೂ ಆದ ಡಾ.ಗಿರಿಧರ ಆರ್ ಬಾಬು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಡಾ.ಗಿರಿಧರ್ ಅವರು ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಕೋವಿಡ್ ತಜ್ಞರ ಸಮಿತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಐಸಿಎಂಆರ್ ನ ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಕಾರ್ಯಪಡೆಗಳ ಸದಸ್ಯರಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ.…