The Research for Resurgence Foundation (RFRF), an RSS-backed academic research organisation on Wednesday submitted a detailed research report to the central government on ways to contain COVID in the country. The report was submitted in the wake of a possible third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nagpur-based RFRF is the academic research wing of RSS’ Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal.
The group comprises experts from the IIT, the IIM, the IISER among other institutions.
The report titled ‘Covid-19 Third Wave and Beyond: Action Plan for Preparedness’ was submitted to the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and the Group of Ministers tackling COVID-related issues.
Team puts forward recommendations for effective COVID containment
The use of masks with higher filtration capacity, an extension of vaccination coverage effective social distancing were among some of the recommendations put forward by a team of experts on combatting the anticipated third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stressing upon the impact of the pandemic on the industrial sector working-class people, the Director-General of RFRF, Rajesh Biniwale, said that steps should be taken to ensure the livelihoods of the workers in the unorganised sectors during the possible third wave of the pandemic. Biniwale added that the RFRF has also recommended that an awareness programme for reducing mass migration of labourers may be prepared by the local administrations along with the concerned industries.
“A combination of strategies of continued activity following COVID protocols and financial support may be adopted for the labourers. The RFRF also suggests that tax benefits should be extended to the industries to support the economy of the workers,” Biniwale said.
Use of mass communication to be promoted for education
Meanwhile, focusing on the education sector, experts recommended that different strategies for online/offline classes for primary, secondary, and higher education may be prepared. “Use of mass communication media such as TV channels should be promoted for primary and secondary education. For higher education, guideline documents suggesting possibilities of online courses may be prepared by the UGC and the AICTE,” the report stated.
National organising secretary of the Bharatiya Shikshan MandalMukul Kanitakar said that recommendations on 11 different aspects such as health, vaccination, AYUSH integration, predictive modelling, economic issues, sustainability aspects, and possible safety through disinfection devices have been included in the report. “The report is the outcome of interactions between the experts and peer review,” Kanitakar said.
The report has advised people from the country to avoid travelling to foreign countries that are highly affected by the virus, “Practise proper hygiene and avoid consuming food that is not home-cooked,” states the list of recommendations
The team of experts included Professor Sarit Das from IIT-Madras as convener, Dr Rajesh Biniwale, CSIR-NEERI, Professor Saurav Pal, IISER Kolkata, Professor MLB Bhatt, King George Medical University Lucknow, Professor Mahadev Jaiswal, IIM Sambalpur, Professor Vinayak Deshpande, Nagpur University, Professor B Chopade, Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Professor Udit Bhatia, IIT Gandhinagar and Mukul Kanitakar, Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal.
