Team News Riveting
Raipur, May 14
A senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) issued a curious circular; asking people attending marriage and funerals to conduct COVID test two days before the event.
The lady IAS official heading a district administration in Chhattisgarh perplexed the people with the weird communication. While people could understand conducting the RT-PCR or the COVID test well in advance before attending the marriage ceremony, they were in a fix to follow the same guideline for attending the funeral.
Literally, how the relatives or dear-and-near of a patient could predict the death two days in advance. They do not have the supernatural power to determine the death two days in advance.
The circular was issued in perspective of COVID protocols following the second wave of pandemic and surge in the cases. The guidelines limit only 10 people to attend marriage and funeral. But it did not endorse the one notified by the IAS official in Chhattisgarh that asked people attending the funeral to conduct a prior COVID test.
After a local Hindi newspaper flashed the report, the authorities swung into action. In a haste, the circular was cancelled and a fresh one was issued.
The retired bureaucrats felt that the lapse could not be ascribed to mere technical grounds. For, it took two days for the authorities to notice the mistake and issue a new circular.
This reflects in the Governance Standards through out the country.