No discussing Bhilwara model with media, IAS officer Rajendra Bhatt in letter to officials

District magistrate Rajendra Bhatt has warned action against erring officials under the Rajasthan Epidemic Act, 1957 and the Disaster Management Act.

Health workers in Bhilwara | Photo - Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

New Delhi: Days after the ‘Bhilwara model‘ in Rajasthan was credited for its success in curbing the spread of coronavirus, Rajendra Bhatt, its collector/district magistrate, has warned government officials against divulging details of the now-famous strategy to the media.

Bhatt is in charge of implementing the plan and has been credited with its conceptualisation.

In a letter dated 11 April 2020, the 56-year-old IAS officer has thanked government officials, police officers, health workers and the district administration for their contribution in making successful the lockdown as well as the district’s strategy in curbing coronavirus.

But he also stated that they must not speak to the media about the Bhilwara model in order to avoid confusion or contradiction. If they do not observe the order, severe action will be taken against them under the Rajasthan Epidemic Act, 1957 and the Disaster Management Act 2005, he warned.

‘A role model’

Mainstream media has been instrumental in creating a buzz around the strategy that has been deployed in this Rajasthan textile-district. Bhilwara had emerged as one of the hotspots of the Covid-19 outbreak last month after it registered 27 positive cases and two deaths.

But after Bhatt’s strategy was applied in the district, which includes isolation, mapping hotspots, door-to-door screening, aggressive contact-tracing and ramping up of quarantine and isolation wards, there were no new Covid-19 cases for at least 10 days.

This led to discussions on how the district had transformed into becoming a “role model“, talks about decoding its strategy and the roles of Bhatt and IAS officer Tina Dabi who has also been pro-active in stemming the outbreak in Bhilwara.

Many other state administrators also expressed their inclination to emulate the strategy of aggressive door-to-door screening and “ruthless containment” in the district.

Bhatt had previously admitted to the model’s success in curbing the spread of Covid-19. Speaking to ThePrint earlier, he had said that the model’s success was no “rocket science” as full cooperation was received from the state government in sealing the district’s borders.

He also said that it would be clear only by 1 May if the virus has been completely eliminated, adding that he wanted the district to go through three cycles of isolation, testing and quarantining before victory against coronavirus was declared.