UP’s department of Health defies digital India, fails to dish out updated info

India is reeling under a fierce second wave of Covid-19 which has impacts the life and livelihood of lakhs of Indians.

In Uttar Pradesh also, a large number of population is battling the virus – in hospitals or in home isolation. And in such dire situation, the internet, particularly social media websites have proved very beneficial in getting right resources or medical help.

However, considering Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s much publicised digital India initiatives, if one attempts to check the official government portals, they may encounter only disappointment.

Take for instance the offical website of UP medical health and family welfare department, where it’s business as usual. One look at the website and you won’t realise that we are amid a pandemic. At a time when it should be ideally listing information about availability of beds in government hospitals or protocols to get life saving drugs etc., the website indeed is only showing default features such as issuance if fitness certificate, issuance of death certificate among others.

If one moves to the government orders section of the website to see what steps have been taken by the health department ti combat Covid-19, then one would fail to find any information as the last update in the section is of August, 5, 2018 (Yes, it is May 2021 now).

The circular section does no better with the last update having been shared on June, 26, 2019.

Also, amid a pandemic what a citizen might need is the contact details of Chief Medical Officer or concerned officials of the district, however, in the contact us section too the information about such district officials was last updated in November, 2018 – a good two and half years ago.

Moreover, the phone number section for additional chief secretary, health secretary or special secretary are infact empty, with the minister of their secretaries not even finding a mention in the contact section.

And given the fact that government had authorised CMOs for allowing use of Remdesiever and constituted a committe to approve Tocilizumab, but if a normal citizen wishes to know what door he or she needs to knock to get these life saving drugs from the government, there is no hierarchy or details mentioned on the website.

While the website is available in both Hindi and English and in different font sizes, even the designation of concerned ministers mentioned on the homepage doesn’t follow basic norms of grammar.

The website has so far been visited by over 4 lakh people, however, given the information that it’s serves, it’s highly unlikely that it has been of much use for anyone in the recent past.