https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Mandla Likely to Become Covid Free District Soon

The tribal district of Mandla in Madhya Pradesh is now enjoying a Covid 19 positivity rate of below 1%. This was made possible largely due to the diligent efforts of District Magistrate Harshika Singh and the residents' participation.
Indian Masterminds Stories

India is undoubtedly the worst-hit country when it comes to the second wave of Covid19. Although at some places, the intensity of the disease has started to flatten; at many others, cases are rising by the day and the death rate has hit an all-time high.

However, such is not the case in the tribal district of Mandla in Madhya Pradesh, situated close to the famous Kanha Tiger Reserve. Here, owing to the efforts of District Collector, Ms. Harshika Singh, and her team, Covid 19 positive cases have dropped to single digits! In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Ms. Singh explains how she is leading her district to a Covid-free existence, and this should materialize soon.

APPROPRIATE HEALTH FACILITIES

Mandla saw a rise in cases during April 2021, when Covid was at its peak. The administration immediately started focusing on strengthening their health facilities. Being a tribal district, they were at a loss of apt resources but they optimally used whatever resources were available.

“We saw 30-35% positivity rate and 200 cases per day, in mid-April, which was quite high. As the cases were increasing in the entire country, we could not refer our cases to hospitals of bigger cities; therefore we really had to pull up our socks to control the spread of the virus in the district,” Ms. Singh told Indian Masterminds.

Among other things, she revamped the hospitals and set up 150 extra oxygen beds. Owing to difficult terrain, Mandla has several community health centers in different places which were also converted into hospitals, each of them with 5-10 oxygen beds.

Door-to-door survey and testing of people in Mandla

INVOLVING MEDICAL STUDENTS

Lacking a team of proper doctors, the Mandla administration decided to involve as much help as possible from any source. Ms. Singh asked people to contribute their services, even if they weren’t a part of the government or any other organization.

“We roped in youths with MBBS degree who were stuck due to lockdown, and AYUSH doctors who were idle. They were trained online to mentally condition themselves to handle a Covid patient. We also connected with retired senior doctors for their help,” she said.

Since the administration didn’t want the entire pressure to come on headquarters, she also involved block health officials and set up 10 oxygen beds in each block where the block doctors and paramedic staff were given training, as also local youth of the area.

The officer roped in medical graduates for an extra hand

ANALYZING THE SPREAD

Once Ms. Singh ensured that health facilities were appropriate, she started analyzing the extent of the spread of the virus. She formed a team that interpreted the data from the district and divided the district according to rural and urban settings.

“We classified our panchayats and urban areas into three categories – ones with 0 cases were in the green zone; 1-10 were in the orange zone, and above 10 were in the red zone. Furthermore, we started with an intensive door-to-door survey, wherein our Anganwadi and ASHA workers went to each house and screened them,” she told Indian Masterminds.

The chart depicting the number of cases in different regions

The entire 12.5 lakh population of the district was screened 3-4 times to identify suspected cases, and the patients were then given basic Covid medicines and were asked to take proper precautions.

Said Ms. Singh, “We introduced medicine vans in which our medical teams moved around and tested and mobilized people wherever there was a suspected case. This helped us in early identification of patients.”

Moving medical vans took medical teams to peoples’ house

ISOLATING PATIENTS

Isolating the Covid 19 patients is the most important step when it comes to their recovery. Mandla being a small district, Ms. Singh came up with a management committee in which they included tribal leaders and respectable people of the district.

They were given the responsibility to deal with patients who were positive in their particular region. They had to look after their isolation, get them tested, and see that these people are not mixing with others. They were also asked to address the needs of their families to stop them from coming out of their homes.

“This man-to-man mapping at the village level was successful. The patients were tele-called thrice a day to analyze their condition and see if they needed any further medical help,” Ms. Singh told Indian Masterminds.

ASHA and Anganwadi workers meeting meeting with family of home quarantined patients

CHECK POSTS ON BORDER

To ensure that people coming back from different states do not bring in the virus, they were quarantined for 13 days, screened, and tested, and only when they were declared Covid-negative, were they allowed to meet their family. This, it goes without saying, stopped the unnecessary movement of outsiders into Mandla.

Furthermore, a check-post to test people was set up on railway stations, bus stands, and other entry points of the district. A proper record was maintained of people entering the border and their tests.

“Since we are close to Chhattisgarh, an increase in cases in that state impacted us as well. Therefore, the community participated in sealing the borders and continuously screening the incoming migrants. They closed their ‘panchayat’ borders” she added.

Panchayats sealed their entry to bar movement

Ms. Singh’s assurance has really motivated the people to take care of themselves and their panchayats. Under her wings, the district’s positivity rate has dropped from 35% to below 1%. She is now focusing on vaccination drives and increasing the number of hospital beds, child ICU and is ready to face any issue that comes her way.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
Tamilnadu-police-resized
PIL Filed in Madras High Court Seeking Timely Appointment of New Tamil Nadu DGP - Details Inside
IRS Officers ndian revenue Services
CBDT Announces Promotions of 5 Senior IRS Officers to Chief Commissioner Grade - Details Inside
CM mohan yadav
CM Dr. Mohan Yadav to Lay Foundation Stone for Four Industrial Units in Sehore on August 2
Reserve-Bank-of-India_RBI_resized
Two Years After Withdrawal, Rs2,000 Notes Worth Rs6,017 Cr Still with Public: RBI
Maritime India
Sonowal Says India’s Maritime Sector Charts Green Future Under Maritime India Vision 2030
IRCTC
IRCTC Appoints Manoj Kumar Sharma as Director (Catering Services) with Additional Charge- Know More About Him
Ministry of Commerce
Nearly 2 Lakh Startups Registered on BHASKAR Platform Across India, Asserts Commerce Ministry
Union Bank of India UBI
Union Bank of India Elevates Vipan Singh as Chief General Manager Following Superannuation of Chander Mohan Minocha
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IAS Karn Satyarthi
How IAS Karn Satyarthi Transformed Gumla Through Empathy and Innovation
Ananth Rupanagudi IRAS
IRAS Ananth Rupanagudi’s Take on Corruption, Reform, and Duty
WhatsApp Image 2025-07-26 at 13.16
What Most Indians Don't Know About Jim Corbett
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
BPSC Bihar police
From Lantern Light to Police Uniform: How Praveen Kumar from a Small Bihar Village Cracked BPSC to Become SDPO
From a lantern-lit village in Bihar to becoming an SDPO, Praveen Kumar's journey is a testament to resilience,...
IAS Priyansha Garg
Why Mindset Matters: IAS Priyansha Garg’s Mental Health Mantra for UPSC
After two failed prelims, Priyansha Garg cracked UPSC with AIR 31 in her fourth attempt, proving how...
Ashish Akshat
From Setback to State Topper: How Ashish Akshat Topped JPSC While Working Full-Time
Ashish Akshat from Dhanbad topped JPSC 2023, proving that resilience, discipline, and family support...
Social Media
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve: From India’s First Sanctuary to a Tiger Conservation Success Story | International Tiger Day Special
IAS Supriya Sahu Hails Mudumalai's Role in Tiger Conservation on Tiger Day. Declared in 1940, Now Among...
Mangroves
Mangroves: Nature’s Shield Against Disasters, Says Officer Parveen Kaswan on Mangroves Day - Watch His Post Here
Mangroves, with their dense, interlaced root systems, form a mesh-like structure that serves as a buffer...
Retired IPS Inderjit Singh Sidhu
Purpose Doesn’t Retire: How 88-Year-Old Retired DIG Becomes Chandigarh’s ‘Quiet Warrior’ of Cleanliness
Inderjit Singh Sidhu’s Dawn Patrol Earns Applause, Mahindra’s Praise for a Man Who Chose Action Over...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
Maharajganj
From Drab to Dream: Inside the Stunning Makeover of Maharajganj’s Govt Offices - Led by One Visionary Officer
Tamilnadu-police-resized
PIL Filed in Madras High Court Seeking Timely Appointment of New Tamil Nadu DGP - Details Inside
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IAS Karn Satyarthi
Ananth Rupanagudi IRAS
WhatsApp Image 2025-07-26 at 13.16
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT