As India heads towards completing six months of being in virtual mode and restricted mobility because of the COVID-19 pandemic in September, the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Home Affairs is examining the impact of the lockdown on citizens’ mental health.
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The Committee — headed by Congress Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma — had a marathon five-hour meeting last Thursday where it discussed a range of issues including mental health as well as the ‘adverse’ health impact on children from prolonged exposure to online classes.
“Continuous exposure to computer or phone screens will surely have an impact on eyesight. The Chairman of our Committee asked the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to consider developing a protocol since this is now the new normal,” an MP familiar with the deliberations told The Hindu on Sunday.
Collective impact
The Committee, said a member, wanted to know what has been the impact of multiple stages of lockdown because of the pandemic on collective psychology and individual mental health.
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Earlier, the panel was briefed by ICMR chief Balram Bhargava, and All India Institute of Medical Sciences Director Randeep Guleria, on the pandemic.
“Older people, who ordinarily don’t go out of their homes, are having psychological issues simply at the idea of being forced indoors. And younger children are asking their parents if they had led this kind of a restrictive childhood,” said another MP.
The 31-member Committee, that has senior members like Satish Chandra Mishra (BSP), Bhupendra Yadav (BJP), Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (Congress), Dinesh Trivedi (Trinamool), also deliberated on the digital divide and the difficulties faced by students belonging to families that are not economically well off.
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Problems with technology
“While some families are unable to own gadgets even in urban areas, students in rural and semi urban areas are facing network issues,” another member said.
Mr. Chowdhury is learnt to have asked the Delhi Chief Secretary, who appeared before the panel, to discuss with school authorities and examine the possibility of reducing the online work load for school students without hampering online education.
The panel also inquired about the inter-operability of ration cards (one nation, one ration card scheme), provision for food for the urban poor, issues related to the migrant workers, availability of loans to smaller businesses among others.
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Since July 15, the parliamentary panel has met officials from the Home Ministry, Health Ministry, ICMR, Department of Financial Services (DFS), National Statistical Organization (NSO), Ministry for Food and Consumer Affairs among others in separate meetings.
However, the Committee may not be able to come up with a report in the upcoming Parliament session scheduled between September 14 and October 1. “Lets see what we can as there is a lot of work to be done before we can give it to Parliament,” a senior member said.
