Weeks after the skies of Mumbai and New Delhi were choked with the smell of funeral pyres, abandoned corpses began appearing in shallow graves along the banks of the Ganges in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states.
Meanwhile, hundreds of teachers are thought to have died of COVID after being forced to serve as poll workers in Uttar Pradesh village council elections in April. Relatives say family members developed fevers and shortness of breath within days of poll duty. In the village of Patkhauli in eastern Uttar Pradesh, almost every one of its 1, residents appeared to fall ill at some point. The dusty hamlet offers nothing to residents in terms of treatment or testing.
So villagers swallowed acetaminophen pills, rested and hoped for the best. For many rural residents of India, it can take hours of walking to reach the closest government hospital or clinic — which often lack properly trained staff, medicine and equipment.
In rural parts of Uttar Pradesh, there are only 2. The residents of Kayamuddinpur Patti at least have access to a government health center six miles away. Still, many are reluctant to seek help there because they fear testing positive for the coronavirus and being forced into quarantine — something few farmers can afford as they eke out a living growing sugar cane, rice and wheat. Lack of trust in the rural health system has undermined vaccination campaigns and allowed misinformation and quack cures to flourish, including miracle elixirs made of cow dung and urine.
In Kayamuddinpur Patti, villagers say vaccinations will make them sick. People believe that once you are admitted to a government hospital, you die.
Indians are blaming a national government that did not prepare for a second wave. Officials are now scrambling to distribute supplies. Operating under the auspices of the Ministry of Health, the force was trained to care for rural mothers and their children, but has now been asked to act as the first line of defense against the spread of COVID in the countryside. Each day, she visits 50 homes in the small town of Bhojpur and nearby villages in Uttar Pradesh.
She lacks a thermometer to detect fevers and a pulse oximeter to measure oxygen levels. Instead, they suffered deep losses because a nationwide lockdown disrupted their ability to sell their crops. Growing anger exploded in January when tens of thousands of farmers on foot, horseback and tractors stormed into New Delhi to protest new laws they believed favored corporate farms. In the state of Maharashtra, Jayashree Waghmare, 40, said she and her husband spent their annual income for treatment at a private hospital.
Avtar Tukaram, 30, said he struggled to find medical care for his ailing father. But too much time had passed. Now Tukaram wonders how he will ever repay the debt for the drug that failed to keep his father alive.
Times staff writer Pierson reported from Singapore and special correspondent Parth M. Resides in Live Oak, CA. Includes Address 10 Phone 5 Email Resides in Cumming, GA. Also known as Sharma Ajay. Includes Address 17 Phone 3 Email 4. Resides in Elmont, NY. Also known as A K Sharma. Includes Address 10 Phone 3 Email 1. Resides in Millis, MA. Includes Address 12 Phone 3 Email 1. Resides in Troy, MI. Includes Address 5 Phone 4 Email 2. Includes Address 14 Phone 6 Email 1. Also known as A A Sharma.
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