The Telangana High Court has directed the state government to file a status report on the provision of medical and other facilities to people stranded in the State amid COVID 19 Pandemic.
A bench of the Telangana High court comprising of Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice T Amarnath Goud was hearing a batch of petitions filed by Advocate Vasudha Nagaraj and others seeking medical and other facilities for people who were stranded in the State due to COVID 19.
The bench directed the state government to file a status report on the provision of essential facilities to the poor within a period of five days.
The Chief Secretary of the State submitted that attempt were being taken by the state to provide relief to the people, however the bench was not convinced with the report submitted by the Chief Secretary terming it as vague.
The bench after having read the report submitted by the Chief Secretary said “The state says, out of 87.59 lakh food security cardholders, 50 lakh are supplied with free rice and other food items. This leaves us with a question. What about the remaining 37 lakh persons, how will they survive during the remaining lockdown period? The Annapurna Canteens are distributing food at Rs 5 per meal under the GHMC jurisdiction. When the entire country is under lockdown, how do you expect a poor person to possess five rupees per each meal?
The bench thereafter directed Advocate General BS Prasad to ensure the presence of Dr. K Shankar, Director of Institute of Preventive Medicine in the next hearing on April 20. The bench also directed the Prasad to submit a status report on the number of tests being conducted in the red zones of containment areas.
-India Legal Bureau