“Mujhe helpline ki lady ne kaha ‘jao mar jao jakar’” (The lady on the helpline told me to go and die),” said Santosh Singh who got the taste of government apathy when he called the integrated command centre for Covid patients for help.
“All of my family members and I have tested Covid positive and as suggested by the government I contacted the helpline number. The next day I got a call from the helpline. The woman on the other end, who introduced herself as Suchi, asked me if I had downloaded the app. I told her that nobody had asked me to download any app. She then said ‘jao mar jao jaa kar’,” Santosh Singh, the son of a local BJP leader, told this reporter on Saturday.
There was pain in his voice as he narrated the incident. “I have also written a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath telling him how uncourteous the staff is.
“I have the recording of the conversation and can pass on to the Chief Minister,” he said.
The conversation in Hindi, but translated in English went like this:
(The call came from 0522-2723468 to 9415XXX098).
Caller: Namaskar, I am Suchi calling from helpline. Can you hear me? Are you Santosh Kumar.
Santosh: Yes, I can hear you.
Caller: To our knowledge you are in home isolation now.
Santosh: Yes.
Caller: Are you updating your health condition in the home isolation App whose information was earlier given to you?
Santosh: I was not given any information regarding this.
Caller: Have you not downloaded the home isolation App?
Santosh: No, I did not get any information. Just now you are telling me about this app.
Caller: This information is supposed to be provided to you by the district administration.
Santosh: No one informed me anything. Even doctors did not contact me.
Caller: Mar jao na jaa kar. Gawar to tum ho hi. (Go die, you uncouth).
The phone was disconnected.
Santosh says that after the letter he wrote to CM went viral, a call came from the helpline on Friday evening where the person apologized for the behaviour. “But till date, I did not get medicine nor any doctor called me. I have some doctor friends who are treating me,” he told this reporter.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh recorded 27,426 new Covid cases on Friday, the highest single day rise so far. It also recorded 103 deaths in 24 hours. However, many locals say the actual number of deaths could be several times more than the official figure. There is a long queue of the bodies at city crematoriums.
