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Inside the control room of MEA’s Covid-19 crisis management cell
- The control room has been a human interface between the foreign ministry and Indians stranded abroad
- Operating out of South Block, control room is equipped with computers and phone lines
Hello … I am calling from xxx. I have stomach pain. Is that a symptom of covid-19? What should I do?”
This is a sample call—one of more than 3,300 fielded by the control room established by the ministry of external affairs (MEA), as part of its “COVID Cell.” The call from an Indian national abroad was received by a 26-year-old probationer of the 2019 Indian Foreign Service (IFS) batch with an engineering background and the advice was not to worry, given that stomach pain is not a symptom of covid-19.
Since it was set up on 16 March, the control room has been the human interface between the MEA and stranded Indians abroad desperate to get back home, as well as foreigners stuck in India and worried parents. Operating out of the “Situation Room” in South Block, the control room is equipped with computers and phone lines. With India prioritizing evacuations from covid-19 hotspots and that too of those free from infection while advising others to stay put where they are, the control room has been inundated with calls.
From a peak of about 800 a day, they have now tapered down to 400-500 calls a day. Requests and complaints are immediately routed to Indian missions abroad or concerned ministries or state governments in India.
Callers are updated with information from the latest advisories whether on travel or health. Foreigners stuck in India are put in touch with their embassies in New Delhi. At times counselling and handholding the distressed too have been done, said one senior official manning the control room.
There are five officers with a medical background among the 75 manning the COVID Cell. “So spot emergency medical advice is also given,” the official cited above said.
This is a far cry from the days Indian diplomats were seen as distant, dealing primarily with matters of the state from the corridors of power. Since the Narendra Modi government took office in 2014, the emphasis has been on giving a more humane face to the government and one of the ministries to effect the changeover has been the MEA. With covid-19 spreading across the world and recognizing the need for interministerial coordination, the MEA appointed a senior officer of the 1989 batch Dammu Ravi as the coordinator of the ministry’s “COVID Cell” on 11 March. Helping him are seven officers of the rank of director and deputy secretary, whose tasks include coordinating evacuations of Indians abroad, helping foreign tourists stranded in India and even giving inputs to the additional solicitor general of India on public interest litigations.
So far, more than 2,500 Indians and around 100 foreigners were evacuated by India, while almost 10,000 foreign nationals have been sent home. The administrative structure of the control room, which is also under Ravi, has eight joint secretaries at the top. These include those heading European divisions, the Americas, South-East Asia, East Asia, the Gulf and Africa. They are supported by IFS probationers who answer calls, emails and requests that come via Twitter. Though their average age is 25-30 years, “they are the pillars of the control room. They are doing a very good job,” the official cited above said. “There was a case of a foreign tourist from Columbia last week, who was with a small child,” recalled one of the officials Mint spoke to. “The tourist told us that they had run out of money and food. This person was in Rajasthan so we contacted the district authorities there and food and essentials were sent over within half an hour,” the official said.
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First Published:3 Apr 2020, 01:27 AM IST
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