In Jharkhand, the panchayat chief hesitates about the lack of medicines and oximeters.

Lack of essential drugs such as paracetamol; Limited number of pulse oximeters; “Widespread” fever; Vaccine hesitancy; Unclear guidelines on the use of the 15th Finance Commission payments for Kovid-19 work; And even the lack of basic things like drinking water. As the second wave of epidemic is knocking at the doors of rural India, the villages of Jharkhand have found themselves scrambling for these major needs

. The heads of panchayats in 24 districts of the state raised these red flags in a series of virtual meetings with the government and among themselves. The Indian Express was part of some of these meetings where these heads sent a serious warning: “Kovid has reached the villages.” Jharkhand is in the grip of epidemic. The state has a weekly positivity rate of about 12 percent and active caseload is 48, 468. In the last 44 days, it has seen a four-fold increase in Kovid-19 deaths – 1 on 31 March this year, Around 113. 4,290 deaths on 14 May. But in several meetings, the chiefs have said that the state could reduce the number of Kovid deaths in many villages. In a virtual meeting with the Panchayati Raj Department and NGOs on May 12, Patel Kumar Mahato of Murhulsudi Panchayat of Bokaro said that there is no medicine in the Community Health Center

. Mahato, who himself was ill, said: “There is no paracetamol in our CHC. Every house has a fever. ” The shortage of doctors is a major concern for the state, with some districts engaging with quacks to fight vaccine hesitation and administer basic medicines. But compounding this are issues in last-mile delivery of drugs and pulse oximeters. The state Health Department has written several letters to the Deputy Commissioners on the distribution of home isolation kits containing masks, essential medicines and oximeters.

 It is left only on paper, Only a few panchayats have received it. In the Pipradih Panchayat of Koderma district, meanwhile, the main concern of Dheeraj Kumar is about the vaccine. His 45-year-old cousin died after the first dose. Since then, he said, residents have turned on him. Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Arun Singh said: “We will soon get the first installment of Pulse Oximeter and we will deliver it to them. On drugs, we have given money to the districts that need to supply it. “But the issues remain. Many people have been diagnosed with typhoid due to lack of investigation report. As of May 14, the state had more than 13,000 Kovid-19 test backlogs. . The residents have turned it on. Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Arun Singh said: “We will soon