india

Updated: Apr 23, 2020 15:01 IST

Bureaucrats have offered a raft of suggestions to the Central government to combat the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic such as determining a geospatial risk radius, turning shipping containers into intensive care units (ICUs), transforming stranded migrant labourers into human capital and using a unique disinfecting formulation called Medecide Antiviral Conversion Spray (MACS).

The suggestions have been compiled in a report by CARUNA, the Civil services Association Reach to support National disasters, comprising 29 Central and All India Service Associations, which was submitted to cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba on Wednesday.

“It is a compilation of various reports,” said Sanjeev Chopra, vice-president, IAS Association. “It is a collective effort that required enormous collaboration. Many people from 29 associations, who are a part of CARUNA, have contributed to it,” he added.

The 28 ‘ideas for action’ that have been suggested by the bureaucrats can be broadly categorised under agriculture, medical equipment, public grievances, migrant labour-related issues and lockdown easing policies.

The group has recommended determining a ‘geospatial risk radius’ in a bid to limit activity and avoid exposure to SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease, as part of lockdown easing solutions. Movement relaxation should be determined according to this radius that was calculated by correlating population density with respect to active cases. “For example, the population density of Himachal Pradesh is eight million with a population density of 144 per square kilometres and Covid-19 positive cases of 11 (assuming 10x, ie 110 undetected cases) --- this means the risk of encountering an active case is in a radius of 12.7 kilometres from a given location,” the report said. “If an area has zero known cases, a risk of one in 200,000 has to be assumed and limit movement to 21 kilomteres for the first 14 days of relaxation,” it added.

It has recommended reducing the number of workdays and introducing flexible-timing for Central government offices. Shifts and incentives for officials coming to work, including enhanced life insurance coverage, and work from home for those staff, who are considered non-essential, has also been recommended.

“Collection of a crop at a local level and rapid payment to farmers to ensure the availability of food and income... This will serve two purposes. Financial security to the local farmers and to the migrants who are living there,” the report suggested for the agriculture sector.

District-wise helplines to help farmers sell their produce, storage issues and up to Rs 10 lakh loan for dedicated agencies who would procure fruits and vegetables directly from farmers and ensure a fair price for farmhands and consumers have been recommended.

The report suggested CURA (Connected Units for Respiratory Ailments) using shipping containers as ICUs and also the production of low-cost ventilators.

“Industry heavyweights, including Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Kalyani Group, and Hyundai India, have been asked to explore the possibility of reconfiguring their plants to produce ventilators. Mahindra and Mahindra is working on an indigenous low- cost device,” it said.

A unique disinfecting formulation called Medecide Antiviral Conversion Spray (MACS) for Covid-19 has been earmarked as “game-changer for India”. “It is water-based and easy to apply with traditional equipment and methods, including fogging and spray that lasts for 28 days. Medicide provides a new and unprecedented means of attack on the environmental spread of infectious diseases by binding to surfaces where applied, allowing the disinfectant molecules to actively fight and kill new pathogens that touch the surface, on a continuing basis. It kills the virus for 28 days after application and deters the contagion,” the report said.

CARUNA also recommended the training of the second line of health workers to counter the pandemic.

The group made a separate suggestion for vulnerable communities such as stranded migrant labourers, forest dwellers and fishing communities. “Migrant labourers can be used for the making of masks, construction of isolation facilities and movement of medical supplies after they undergo proper training,” the report added.

The group has also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to appeal to those, who have savings of Rs 5 lakh and above, to contribute at least Rs 10,000 to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund. CARUNA suggested that the PM requests citizens to donate at least 10% of their earnings from fixed deposits earned last year to the fund.