At a time when the entire country is fighting the Chinese menace coronavirus, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has continued her obsession over political conspiracies. Mamata Banerjee has now stoked a new controversy by politicizing the issue of yellow PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) kits given by the Centre to the state government and hinted that West Bengal might not use it.
Questioning the colour of the PPE kits, Mamata Banerjee said that the state government had asked for one lakh PPE kits but received only 3000 kits.
“And do you know what the biggest surprise was? A colour has been fixed for the kits. I hear the colour is yellow,” she declared during a press conference. Addressing the media at the state secretariat Nabanna, Mamata Banerjee said she was surprised by the choice of the colour and said that doctors don’t usually wear yellow kits but white or blue kits.
“I don’t know if yellow matches with Covid. Doctors usually wear (PPE kits) in white or ash colour. Some of them wear blue or sky blue kits. Some housecoats in nursing homes are pink. But I’ve never seen yellow kits. We’ll have to see what the matter is,” she said.
The chief minister appeared to allege saffronisation of PPE kits by questioning its colour. However, yellow or orange kits are used all over the world to indicate hazard. People who work in hazardous activities wear yellow or orange PPE suits. As attending to Wuhan Coronavirus patients is a hazardous activity, yellow PPE kits for doctors and nurses treating them is appropriate. Moreover, bright colours are handy in alerting people of danger, and are useful for capturing people’s attention.
It is important to note that West Bengal chief minister is objecting to the colour of PPE suits sent by the centre at a time when the doctors in the state are having to use raincoats in the absence of PPE kits while treating COVID-19 patients. Healthcare workers in the state are demanding proper PPE kits, but they are provided with raincoats and gloves, some of which were even torn.
The West Bengal chief minister is particularly fond of white and blue colours, and she had literally painted the city of Kolkata with these colors after coming to power in the state. The Mamata Banerjee government had even given tax waiver for buildings if they are painted white and blue. Therefore, it is not a surprise that she does not like yellow PPE kits and wants them in white and blue.
As of today, West Bengal has recorded 99 positive coronavirus cases with 5 deaths while 13 people have recovered.
