With India’s Covid caseload reaching alarming proportions – daily cases have hit the 2.6 lakh mark with the number of daily deaths reaching 1,493 – there is an urgent need to strike a balance between pandemic mitigation efforts and public activities. While restrictions on movement and businesses are already in place across districts and cities in the country, a return to the hard lockdown of last year would be disastrous for the economy. The country can ill afford another economic blow, especially since it has hardly recovered from the previous one.
At the same time, it’s also clear that Covid cases can’t be allowed to grow at the current pace. The healthcare infrastructure is again stretched in several states and cities with hospital beds and oxygen supply turning dicey. In such a scenario, the minimum that authorities must do is prevent potential super spreader events at all costs. Which is why the ongoing Kumbh Mela and the Bengal assembly polls must be seen in the context of the current extraordinary circumstances.
It’s welcome that after PM Modi’s call for observing the Kumbh symbolically from hereon, Juna akhada – the largest of the 13 sects of seers in the country – decided to pull out of the religious festival. With lakhs thronging to Haridwar, 1,700 tested Covid positive last week with Mahanirvani akhada’s head even dying from the disease. And with devotees going back to their home states after a dip in the Ganga, there’s a serious risk they will become Covid carriers to interior hamlets of the country. Thus, curtailing the Kumbh and saving lives of devotees must become priority.
Similarly, the long-drawn Bengal election is proving to be another Covid unsafe event with political parties holding large rallies with little safety protocols. The first 15 days of the month have already seen new Covid cases in the state rise to 49,970 with 151 fatalities. Although the Election Commission has rejected the proposal of clubbing the remaining three phases of the election, saying such a move will be unfair to the candidates in these rounds, the proposal needs to be relooked. After all, a majority of the seats have already finished polling while many in the remaining three phases are located in urban areas like Kolkata. Hence, conducting these phases in one shot is both possible and preferable to temporary curbs like restricting campaigning between 7 to 10pm. Again, these are extraordinary circumstances that demand authorities and the public adapt to the new normal.
This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
Top Comment
shanti anand
3 hours ago
It is failure of govt first and people second for second wave of the pandemic covid.Govt and their thinktank comprising of Lutyen zone doctors and administrators are sole responsible for this tsunami. The lust for spread of saffron across the country has made them to wear horse tack and put people of the country in danger. The think tank available at Delhi gave wrong advice to govt with enjoying pay and perks on taxpayers money. They both experts and bureocrats got themselves in coming online get lime light through debate on TV channels. All these experts from corporate healthcare centers are all are silent now. The public has also contributed to this upsurge . How educated Bengalis got carried away for electioneering and went for mass rallies and roadshows by both TMC and BJP putting their personal security at stake is beyond comprehension. People have now started wearing mask and coming out of their house when it is necessary. This will help in breaking the Corona chain but definently take a few days more when results will be visible. It is all not understood when poltical parties always say that yeh Janata ki sarkar hai. Then what was wrong in accepting the proposal of remaining phases of Bengal election in one go or postpone the elections for some times. This will keep TMC govt for somemore time as the vikas hobe promised by BJP is not going to fructify on ground in near future. This will have same fate as of India where unemployment is at peak. Prices of essential commodities and inflation are peaking, we have locked industries. The opening of new factories are distant dream since corporate houses are happy with change of guard for supply chain industries and going for imported licenced essential co.modities to earn more profit and remain free from the burden of workers, security and power supply problem. Though, it is said that we are going to be digital but polticians are relying only on road show and uses personal allegation against opposition for drawing attention of people. People have realised that mask and do gaj ki duri hai jaruri but when poltician will realise that the life of their vote bank which is their Annadata and workers is equally precious as of their lives only God knows.... Read More