UP: Sick with Covid, teacher on poll duty posts video of her state

BAREILLY: A school teacher on poll duty in UP’s Shajahanpur during the last phase of panchayat polls on Thursday fell seriously sick while at the polling centre. But when no help came her way, she made a video clip of her condition and posted it on a teachers Whatsapp group from where it went viral.
In the video, she can be seen lying on the floor, continuously coughing, gasping for breath and barely able to speak.In the video, she says, “My name is Aparna. My duty is at an upper primary school in Dasiya village of Kalaan. I am not well and there is no medical assistance provided to me at all. They are not even letting me go to the hospital. I am forced to stay here. What shall I do? Please help me.” Polling didn’t stop at the centre despite the deteriorating condition of the woman. Local police later shifted her to a nearby community health centre after the video became viral.
Aparna Mahavar, 44, mother of two children, aged 10 and 3, is deployed at a primary school in Dadraul block and she was sent to Dasiya block in rural area for polling duty. She had requested that she be exempted from the duty but her request was turned down. At the polling station, her condition deteriorated and she informed her seniors but she was not allowed to return home. She was provided medical assistance nearly after two hours of waiting. Police took her to the district hospital but she decided to return home.
When contacted, Mahavar told TOI, “The condition at the hospital was horrible. There were people lying on the floor begging medical attention. I found that it was better to take treatment at home but after I returned home, no one has bothered to provide me with any medicine. My Covid test is also not done and my husband’s report is awaited. I am scared as we have no support.”
TOI spoke to the district magistrate Shahjahanpur, Indra Vikram Singh, about this incident over the phone. He said, “We had immediately replaced the staff and sent the teacher to the hospital for treatment. Her condition was found stable and her oxygen level was nearly 94, which is why her Covid test was also not done.”
Chief medical superintendent, district hospital Shahjahanpur, U P Sinha said, “We are over-stretched despite doubling the beds in the trauma centre. Since she offered to return home, we didn’t stop her. Her Covid test was not done because she was not admitted to the hospital.”
Speaking on the matter, Ankur Tripathi, leader of a teacher’s union said teachers are being treated in an inhuman manner. “I will be raising this issue with the National Human Rights Commission. We don’t know how we can do the ‘counting’ duty? We have been asked to work 12 hours at a stretch with no breaks and no medical facilities.”
In a similar incident, Santosh Gupta, a presiding officer, collapsed minutes after voting was over in Dhulia village in Nigohi block on Thursday evening. He was immediately rushed to the nearest community health centre for treatment.