Maharashtra: Tribal belt battles an unknown killer

Social workers from Shramjeevi Sangathana have been working in tribal communities to spread awareness. Pics/Hanif Patel

The second wave of Covid-19 has found a new hunting ground in the tribal-dominated talukas of Palghar district, which is hardly a two-hour drive from the country's financial capital. Even as the virus ravages the tribal lands, there is hardly any awareness among people on how to safeguard themselves or what precautions to take. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Palghar Zila Parishad Siddhartha Salimath, claimed that his field workers are spreading awareness among the tribal community. But the ground reality paints a grim picture.

mid-day visited the tribal villages of Jawhar and Mokhada talukas and found no hoardings or pictorial messages regarding Covid-19 protocols. The male members of the tribe, who often go bare-chested, were not wearing face masks. A few females covered their faces with their dupatta or the pallu of their saree. "We don't even have proper clothes to wear, how will we get a mask and who will give them to us?" murmured a few tribal women in Bedukwadi village in Mokhada Taluka.

Lack of access to health services and public transport discourages people from going all the way to health centres

"The nearest Primary Health Centre (PHC) is 10 km away in Vashala. We have to rush there on our motorcycle during health emergencies as the ambulance takes a lot of time to reach here," said Pandurang Malak, 46, sarpanch of Khoch village, located near Bedukpada village.

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Ramesh Fupane, 30, from Bedukpada, said, "No one has come to tell us what Covid-19 is. We have just heard that it is a very dangerous virus which has killed so many people. My elder brother Vilas died of Covid-19 on May 2. He was a teacher."

A tribal man covers his face with a towel

Funerals without protocols

Tribals do not know that the bodies of Covid-19 victims need to be cremated as per certain protocols. "In the absence of a designated cremation ground, bodies are burned in fields or jungles located near the villages," said Ulhas Bhanushali, a Shramjeevi Sangathana worker. Vilas's body was handed over to his family. "My brother died while on the way to the hospital. So we took him back home and conducted his last rites, which was attended by 50 people. I was not aware that it will infect us further," Fupane said.

A local journalist Raju Salve from Dhamanshet died of Covid-19 on May 3 and his body, too, was also handed to his relatives for the last rites. Villagers and Salve's relatives attended the funeral.

Workers of Shramjeevi Sangathana have been conducting awareness drives in tribal villages of Palghar

Salve's wife Surekha said, "The gram panchayat has not made us aware about Covid-19 rules."

Amidst the acute lack of awareness, tribals also hide their symptoms and don't go for Covid-19 testing. Another reason behind them not getting tests is that the centres are located at least 10-15 km away from villages and there is a severe lack of transportation.

Journalist Raju Salve's wife, Surekha, at her residence in Dhamanshet. Raju died of Covid-19 on May 3

"Everyone does not have a motorcycle so most of them either depend on public transport or walk to health centres for tests. This discourages people from testing," said a government official.

How did the virus spread?

None in the tribal communities, which were largely untouched during the first wave, know how the pandemic spreads. Most villagers are illiterate and work in brick factories in rural Thane, the remotest areas of Vasai-Virar and Bhiwandi, adjacent districts in Gujarat and the nearby union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli (DNH).

A Shramjeevi Sangathana worker checks a villager's vitals

It is believed that the virus spread from tribals who returned to their villages after getting infected. "The virus is further spreading among tribals. The state government has not generated any awareness among tribal communities. People have not been taught the importance of social distancing, nor have they been given any face masks or hand sanitisers," said Sita Ghatal, who works with Shramjeevi Sangathana in Jawhar taluka.

mid-day also spoke to local tribes, most of whom speak only Marathi. They expressed helplessness in terms of the government machinery. "No one comes to look after us," said tribal women unanimously in Bedukpada village.

Ramesh Fupane's brother died of Covid-19 on May 2; (R) a man covers his face with a towel in Dhamanshet

Ghatal told mid-day that the condition is the same in other villages as government workers are scared to visit them.

Second wave is devastating

The chairman of a government-appointed committee meant to look into the status of schemes for tribals in Maharashtra, Vivek Pandit, said, "The state government must activate its local bodies to educate tribals as the pandemic is spreading fast. They remained unaffected in the first wave, but the second wave is devastating as the tribals are illiterate and they need to be taken care of."

The tribals also remained deprived of news as there is a severe shortage of power supply. "The power supply remains cut off for at least eight to 10 consecutive days. They do not have television to watch news channels to remain updated," said Vijay Jadhav, the general secretary of the Shramjeevi Sangathana led by Pandit.

mid-day has also learnt that expired hand santisers were distributed among the tribals by state government officials in Nyahala Khurd gram panchayat of Jawhar taluka.

What govt says

When asked about initiatives taken by the state to safeguard the tribal communities in the pandemic, Palghar Zila Parishad CEO Salimath said, "I have been told by our field workers that an awareness campaign has been undertaken in tribal villages. I have not visited these villages as I was busy in an assignment in Mussoorie where I got infected with Covid-19."

"I have resumed work recently and have learnt that expired hand sanitisers were distributed in some places in Jawhar. I have set up an enquiry into the matter
and the culprits will be dealt with an iron hand," Salimath said.

Asked about the funds spent on spreading awareness and distributing masks, hand sanitisers and soaps among tribals, Salimath said, "Someone from my office will call you." No one called this reporter till the time of going to press.

Sources told mid-day that all health workers, including ASHA, gram panchayat officials, anganwadi workers and others who have been given the responsibility to spread awareness among tribals, have taken Covid-19 vaccination under the category of frontline workers. "They are scared to visit the tribal hamlets as Covid-19
cases are spreading fast in the villages and no SOPs are being followed by tribals because they are not aware of how dreadful Covid-19-19 is," the source said.

4,652
No. of people infected in Palghar district's rural areas so far

15km
Approx. distance between villages and local Public Health Centres

10
No. of days that tribal villages lose power supply consecutively

50
No. of people who attended Vilas Fupane's funeral