Praise not enough, help Covid warriors, their kin too

This picture has been used for representational purpose

A Mumbai advocate's recent Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the Bombay High Court with reference to healthcare workers, is a sit up and think moment for everybody.

Broadly, the PIL calls for better conditions, living and working for doctors and calls out the government on the long working hours, especially in the pandemic. A report in this paper also stated that the PIL said frontline workers should be given war hero benefits. Just like a soldier's family is looked after in case he dies in a war or a terror incident, a parallel is drawn in this case for doctors, with the petition saying that the family also needs to be looked after by the government.

Perhaps the most shocking aspect is that some medical workers themselves had struggled to get beds during crunch time, for their own treatment or were saddled with huge hospital bills for treatment of the virus they contracted while on Covid duty, treating patients.

Whether one agrees to all points or not, it is certainly enough for us to open our eyes to the fact that these persons do not just need a pat on the back and feel-good noises about being heroes. They need solid help and looking after which the government can only do so by giving monetary assistance.

Beyond the pandemic too, it is vital that there is careful attention to doctors and nurses living conditions in the city. They need some comfort even if not luxury, which simply means hygiene and safety as they work towards their medical degrees.

We have read and may even know of doctors and nurses who have perished in the line of duty since last year. Their families must be taken care of to some extent as they have sacrificed for their people. War hero like or others, they certainly deserve these benefits.