At the beginning of the year 2020, the deadly coronavirus engulfed India. The challenge of fighting an unknown virus based on very little information and clarity has pushed India into a 'One Model Fits All' nationwide lockdown from 24 March 2020. With the rapid spread of the third wave, it is important that we introspect. A study was conducted by the Center for Citizenship and Democracy in consultation with city heads across the country to do a comparative analysis of the responses to the first and second waves of Covid. When the second wave was much more severe than the first, why didn't we adopt the model of centralized lockdown? Why was there more focus on state and localized lockdowns?
Perhaps because we evolved as a society and were educated on how to deal with health emergencies. • Learned from your mistakes, faced failures, and built models that could be repeated. Governments at various levels have understood that the best way to tackle this virus is through localized, decentralized responses, in which governments are better connected to citizens.
On 3 May 2020, when the new commissioner of Mumbai took over, he first decided to abolish the centralized control room and set up one ward war room in 24 wards of Mumbai. It became easy to call every patient, isolate the home and allocate beds according to the need. Mumbai's policies like 'Chase the virus' in a densely populated slum have received global acclaim and have been implemented by countries like the Philippines. Bangalore and Chennai used a similar approach for triage patients at the zonal level, which yielded good returns. Surat employed over 2800 personnel in addition to the 700 surveillance personnel already present, who could simultaneously cover the entire city in a cycle of 4-5 days and provide patients with a decentralized mobile therapy.
Cuttack divided the city's 59 wards into 12 zones, each with a primary health center and 4-5 wards. Rapid response teams have been placed in each of these zones, people connected with them will do home visits, distribute isolation kits, conduct webinars and keep in touch with patients on WhatsApp. When the health system, the state's capabilities, was struggling, our citizens got involved and joined with local governments. In Bengaluru, volunteers participated through a portal called BLC areas.
In Chennai, a group of volunteers called 'Friends of COVID Citizens Under Surveillance' (Focus) helped people in home isolation. In Surat, the municipal administration took the help of various community COVID - care centers and security cover societies of diamond and cloth merchants, which set up isolation, food, medical treatment, oxygen plants. Helped with setting up etc. The administration in Cuttack took the active help of traditional royal committees and Drugs Pupa committees to monitor and maintain law and order during the mission. Influential volunteers helped arrange essentials, cook food, and spread awareness.
Kerala is known for its strong healthcare system and decentralized structures. Both of them have played a beneficial role in the management of the pandemic. Kerala's response, led by municipal corporations and its health centers, district-level control rooms, and risk monitoring mechanisms, even drew praise from the WHO.
In the same way that Odisha institutionalized ward-level structures in 2019, which have developed legitimacy and public trust during the pandemic due to their proven usefulness, cities like Bengaluru have active ward committees in every ward, which are responsible for monitoring and resources. Active in coordination. These cities have proven how streamlining structures and institutionalizing processes yields more dividends. Clearly, governments have moved from a homogenous, centralized response during the pandemic to a decentralized, localized model.
This tells us that citizens and governments can work together effectively. The devolution of powers at the local level makes us stronger and helps us respond better. What is needed is that decentralization should not arise only in crisis, the desire to centralize power should be removed even in normal times. Decentralization will not only help us deal with the crisis better and provide services but will also help us strengthen our democracy.
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