Mangaluru city-based APD Foundation has mooted the idea of giving state recognition and compensation for 'Covid Saviours', namely healthcare workers and civic officials who die in the line of duty in the war against Covid-19 pandemic.
This suggestion was formally proposed by Abdullah A Rehman, Founder and CEO, APD Foundation in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.
In the letter, Rehman asserts that Covid-19 pandemic has caused widespread devastation in the country and played havoc on the life of the common man. In this scenario, healthcare workers such as doctors, nurses and paramedics along with civic officials have emerged as the saviours of the suffering humanity. They expose themselves to great personal risk while treating Covid patients. Many of them catch the infection and a few of them have died. Such persons deserve to be recognized by the government for their supreme sacrifice.
Elaborating the rationale behind the proposal, the letter draws comparisons with the practice of soldiers who die on the battlefield being glorified as martyrs. The slain soldiers are decorated posthumously with medals and titles of honour. Their families are provided with compensation so that the future of their widows, children and parents is safeguarded. They are provided with an allotment of land, lucrative business opportunities like petrol pump/gas agency or reservation in government jobs for their spouse and children.
The letter suggests that healthcare workers and civic officials who succumb in the line of duty should also be similarly honoured.
“Hence, I propose that healthcare workers like doctors, nurses and paramedics who die while treating Covid patients should be recognised as 'Covid Saviours'. Civic officials who are working for the cause should also be included in this scheme. Generous compensation should be paid to their families so that their future welfare is ensured as if they were alive,” Rehman has said.
“Though the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to be a temporary phenomenon, there is a need to recognise the service of those who are helping society to overcome this grave crisis. They inspire confidence in the hearts of the common people in the same manner as soldiers in uniform do. Hence I urge you to accept the suggestions made herein and announce the same at the earliest,” Rehman concluded in his letter.