Jharkhand High Court on Friday called the novel coronavirus pandemic a “war-like situation” in the state and asked advocate general Rajiv Ranjan how well the government was equipped to tackle it.

The advocate general, on his part, pointed to the Centre ignoring the state’s demands.

A division bench of Chief Justice Ravi Ranjan and Justice S.N. Prasad heard a spate of public interest litigations (PILs) about the battle against the virus. The court directed the state government to inform what actions it has taken in terms of policy decisions for dealing with the pandemic.

The bench also ordered the advocate general to file a detailed affidavit on the response of the government for ensuring implementation of lockdown guidelines of the Centre in hotspots declared in the state capital and other districts.

The bench asked what steps were being taken to deal with the virus in the forthcoming holy month of Ramzan.

It expressed anguish on news reports that claimed residents of Hindpiri in Ranchi, a containment zone, were not following the lockdown.

The bench read out reports and excerpts of a letter sent by a man named Arun Kumar Dubey on violation of lockdown guidelines in Hindpiri. The court, which has treated Dubey’s letter as a separate PIL, said two contractors of Hindpiri attended a meeting of the Ranchi Municipal Corporation’s water board while five residents of the area travelled to Lohardaga at a time Hindipiri is sealed.

“How can people move about when the whole area has been sealed and has been identified as a potential hotspot?” the judges asked the government.

Citing another news report, the court asked the government to explain what action has been taken against the Ranchi deputy commissioner (DC) for allegedly sending buses filled with labourers to Sahebgunj and Pakur on instructions of a state minister. The court wanted to know whether those labourers have been traced, tested and quarantined.

Advocate general Rajiv Ranjan, defending the government, said Hindpiri has been sealed and all 15 exit points have been blocked with corrugated sheets.

Ranjan said that demands made by the state government from the Centre to send masks, personal protective equipment (PPE), testing kits, ventilators and rapid testing kits have not been complied with.

The state has only 5,000 testing kits at its disposal, the advocate general said,.

The bench also queried with regards to the preparedness of doctors and facilities of RIMS and other government hospitals in the state.

While dealing with a PIL filed by Gulab Chandra Prajapati on cremation and burial of Covid-19 patients, the court was informed by the advocate general that the Ranchi DC had identified a separate burial ground and cremation spot.

In another PIL filed by Amarjeet Singh dealing with the rights and privileges of members of the transgender community, the bench directed the government to furnish district-wise list of transgender persons and take steps to ensure that they were provided with food and ration immediately.