Digital Platform to Monitor Covid Impact in Delhi

If the Kejriwal government is serious in containing the virus, it should create a comprehensive online Government-to-Citizen (G2C) facility.

By Rakesh Raman

While Delhi is among the worst-managed states where coronavirus (Covid-19) is causing extreme disaster, the Delhi Government has decided to use technology to monitor the impact of the virus.

The government of chief minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal announced Saturday (May 15) the formation of a digital platform christened Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) to collect and analyze Covid data in the city-state.

“Delhi govt has started an Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC). Data related to hospitals, oxygen, vaccination and other aspects of Covid management are collected, collated and analyzed on a real time basis. It will help us make informed decisions,” said Kejriwal in his tweet of May 15.

However, this platform is unlikely to deliver any meaningful outcome because it will not help citizens get relief during the pandemic. Rather, it is an internal interface of the Kejriwal government which will not reveal the Covid information in a transparent manner. 

If the Kejriwal government is serious in containing the virus, it should create a comprehensive online Government-to-Citizen (G2C) facility to provide real-time information related to the status of coronavirus in the city.

The information can be about the number of cases, deaths, vaccination, availability of healthcare resources, and so on. The tech experts should create an effective User Interface (UI) for this web portal so that it is easy for the users to navigate and take information. It should be managed as a mission-critical service.

The users should also be able to register their requirements which should get automatically transferred to the resource supplier such as hospitals depending on their availability. It should be a multilingual portal for people in Delhi. 

Delhi govt has started an Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC). Data related to hospitals, oxygen, vaccination and other aspects of covid management are collected, collated and analysed on real time basis. It will help us in making informed decision making pic.twitter.com/WWrmP1VJxS

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 15, 2021

Today, there is no such online G2C facility available. The existing government websites are so repulsive and stale that they do not give any useful information.  

Meanwhile, the Delhi Government has extended the Covid lockdown in the city until May 24.

By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.