It’s getting late to spread the Covid awareness message in Madhesh, in the language they understand, that Covid is neither rich man’s disease nor the sinners’ but that it attacks all.
Even though it is established that self-isolation and physical distancing is the only way to keep Covid away, many folks in Madhesh, Nepal’s southern plains, seem to think that Covid-19 pandemic is a blessing in disguise.
In Janakpur, there are people who consider this pandemic as a divine punishment unleashed by God on mankind. For them, Yajna and religious activities at temples could be the “only” way to drive the threat away. Elderly people tell the youngsters: People have lost faith in God, they have become sinners and the sinners are dying of Covid-19.
As a matter of fact, many people here still do not know what Covid-19 pandemic actually is. People don’t understand Nepali language here. The Covid-19 awareness messages spread by the government or non-government agencies do not reach the ordinary people. The Caller Back Ringtones (CRBT) of the mobile network providers, like Nepal Telecom or Ncell, are in Nepali, which Madheshi youths living in urban areas understand but which means nothing for the elderly and uneducated people in the rural settings.
It’s getting late to spread the message in Madhesh, in the language they understand, that Covid is neither rich man’s disease nor the sinners’, it attacks all and therefore one should follow all safety measures.
The fault lines and staggering trust deficits are evident when it comes to government’s unscientific and unhygienic management of quarantine and isolation centers. In Bathnaha of Mahottari, my home village, recently two elderly persons, in their 60s, succumbed to the virus. A group of people joined the final rituals, some of them later tested positive. There is no agency to keep them in isolation and quarantine. They walked around freely, performing their usual business and probably spreading the contagion.
The healthcare professionals in villages often treat Covid suspects as common cold patients. In Janakpur, I can see people walking on the streets or attending marriage ceremonies without masks, whatever the warnings by the government. Actually, they think that the government is not going to come to their aid when they catch Covid and that they have savings enough to battle the disease if they contract it.
Unjust laws
Interestingly, Nepal’s epidemic laws recognize the rights of the state but fail to take cognizance of the duties of the government towards its subjects. The Infectious Disease Act (1964) provisions that the person who wilfully disobeys the lockdown/prohibitory orders will be punished with imprisonment of either more than one month and/or fine of Rs 100.
The legislation confers blanket power on the state to curtail the outbreak of infection but it does not necessarily explain duties of the government towards its vulnerable citizens. Nor do the laws explicitly and authoritatively recognize the rights of citizens during the outbreak of any disease.
In the case of Advocate Roshani Paudyal v Government of Nepal and Others—the Supreme Court on August 5, 2020 directed the government of Nepal to study the effectiveness of the existing laws and to enact laws in line with the study report submitted to the government. The apex court also directed the government to prioritize the concerns of women and high-risk-groups in the said laws to be enacted to deal with the issues and concerns of the pandemic.
On April 26, Parliament’s Legislative Management Committee urged the government to amend the (outdated) laws relating to epidemic and disaster management. The Committee had said that Nepal is in need of a progressive law to battle the epidemic-like situations. In fact, a law which does not prescribe the rights of the citizens and duties of the state towards their citizens deserves to be amended or substituted with fresh enactments showing a clear roadmap of obligations and civil liberties. As things stand, the law has not been amended yet.
It will be difficult for the state to combat outbreaks unless there is a specialized research center to study the causes, symptoms, prevention and treatment of the diseases. Our epidemic laws fail to define what infectious or contagious disease is. The legislation explains that the government has an inherent right to adopt measures to contain the spread of infectious diseases but they do not explain duties of the state towards its vulnerable citizens during health emergency-like situations. Nor do the laws explicitly and authoritatively recognize the rights of citizens during the outburst of any disease. Thus, the state has failed to ensure welfare of people.
Loss of wages, unemployment and lack of access to welfare schemes make the situation worse. It’s imperative to ensure masks, food and relief materials to the needy through the public distribution system
In the UK, the Coronavirus Act (2020) obliges the state to provide compensation to the Covid victims. The newly enacted special law succeeds to strike a balance between the rights and duties of the state during the Covid outbreak. It has a provision which seeks to register health workers, volunteers or other persons or organizations engaged in serving the people and society.
The government of Nepal may take a leaf from that Act, which is a special law enacted for defeating the Covid-19.
Give me mask
Needless to say, poor and underprivileged suffer the most during the lockdown. Loss of wages, unemployment and lack of access to welfare schemes make the situation worse. It’s imperative to ensure masks, food and relief materials to the needy through the public distribution system.
In Janakpur and nearby villages, many people do not have money to purchase masks. The local bodies are neither educating them to cover faces with towels as an alternative to masks, nor do they distribute essentials kits or relief materials free of cost.
It’s time for the state to save its people through every possible means that can be explored.
The author, former lecturer of Law at Kathmandu University School of Law, is currently a Judicial Officer at Dhanusha District Court. He has co-authored “Socio-legal impacts of COVID-19: Comparative critique of laws in India and Nepal.”
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