With lockdown in India due to Covid 19 Corona virus is almost 4 weeks old now, the situation in India is not at all bad if you compare to the situation in some of the other countries in Europe and in North America. The count of total infected people in India has crossed over 15000 and death figure hovering around 600. The biggest affected state have been Maharashtra, which has accounted for more than 30% of India’s cases and almost 40% of total deaths in the country. Which is an alarming figure considering the other states in the country, with two of the big commercial regions of the state ie Mumbai Metropolitan region and Puni/Pimri/Chinchwad region falling under Red zones, the situation is very grave in the state. Agreed city of Mumbai and its suburbs are thickly populated, but that is no excuse for the govt. With these two regions being affected badly the affect on state’s economy is going to be very bad. The economic fate of Mumbai also affects the economic state of the country.
I, being a Mumbaikar, am deeply saddened by the way this virus has been handled by the Maharashtra State Govt which is being run by Shiv Sena/Congress/NCP. The way they have handled the situation is not by which we can say we are proud of govt’s working on this issue. Few weeks back Maharashtra was not that bad as compared to other states of country, but after that the way the virus spread in Maharashtra and specially in Mumbai region is hard to believe. In most of the big cities of the state people took locked down very lightly. There were images on news channels which showed people ignoring even police’s appeal of staying indoors, and there was no action taken by govt by these violators. Secondly Tanlighi Jammat issue was not handled properly, till few days back more than 50 Tablighi people were still untraceable.
With Corona virus spreading through the slums of Dharavi and Govandi in Mumbai, the situation has reached the dangerous level. The coalition govt’s inability to get its act together even after a month of lock down has put Mumbai at a grave risk.
No body is sure whether there is a war room to tackle the virus in the city. It looks like there is no coordination between CM/Home Minister/Health Minister. Friends, please note that both Home & Health portfolio’s are with NCP. We do not know who is in charge of Mumbai during corona virus whether it is state govt or BMC. No one is sure about whether any guardian minister who have been assigned the responsibility of various districts have actually visited the assigned districts, or have they treated lock down as holiday.
Considering even after detecting the first case in Mumbai, which was more than 40 days back, the state govt and BMC is still struggling to get its act together. With about 2700 cases in the city and 132 deaths, Mumbai is sitting on the virus volcano. Everyone who knows about Mumbai city was sure about that Dharavi, Govandi, some areas in Worli, and other areas in south Mumbai will emerge as hot spots when corona hits the city. But govt did not take any preventive action. What makes the situation more dicey is the rise of new containment zones even after 26 days of lock down, which indirectly makes mockery of lock down.
The govt spoke person claims that we have done more testing than any other state. The test per million (TPM) in Maharashtra is below than Rajasthan and Kerala ( other more populous states) and even below Delhi. But starting 12th April, testing protocols have been abruptly changed in Mumbai. Now, non high risk contacts won’t be tested. Considering 65% of Mumbai Corona virus patients have be asymptomatic, one can imagine the grave danger this will lead to. It also goes against the guidelines of the ICMR.
Umpteen images and videos from across the city in last three weeks proves the effectiveness of lock down, which actually is not working as per the guidelines with violations galore. Let us look down at some outrageous lockdown violations :
- An Engineer from Thane gets picked up by NCP workers on 5th Apr on the behest of NCP minister for some Face book post, and was taken to Minister’s house, where he is beaten by minister’s workers in the presence of police guards. Two of the policemen who were also involved in beating later tested positive for There is rumour the said minister is also tested positive.
- The hasty and sudden permission given by the principal secretary of the Home department to the members of Wadhawan family to travel to Mahabaleshwar during the lockdown, stands well exposed. Apart from the secretary being sent on leave, no investigation followed.
- The significant numbers of Tablighis from Maharashtra who attended Nizamuddin Markaz congregation have not been traced. 10 days back Home minister claimed that 58 Markaz attendees are still untraceable, and after 5 days the he says 40 have been traced. A statement which is not backed by any supporting facts.
- The massive migrant workers’ crown outside Bandra station on 14th Apr is a still mystery. The fact that more than 2000 people could congregate in a place, when ordinary person thinks twice before venturing out for even buying grocery. A similar congregation also happened in Mumbra in Thane dist. The fact that arrested instigator of this episode, Vinay Dubey, whose social media post was responsible for these congregations, flaunts his proximity to NCP minister in Maharashtra govt, does not look coincidental. The migrant workers at Bandra were supposedly tutored by local politicians to rebel.
The above incidents show that the CM has little or no control or knowledge about what his minister from other coalition partners are up to.
If the things keep on going like this, in my opinion there is very likely chance that Mumbai may face another lock down even after 3rd May. As there is no clear cut guidelines from Maharashtra govt, even though CM keeps on appearing on TV after every few days and issues guide lines, but the ground reality is that these guidelines are not followed in true sense , the obvious reason being high headedness of some politicians, and their followers. There is every chance of Mumbai becoming economically sick city after 3rd May, and it will need great efforts by every Mumbaikar to restore it to its original position.
Now can some of my friends from Mumbai tell me whether they have seen any MP/MLA/Corporator from their area with masks directing people or briefing them about lock down or corona virus. Even if they move they will move in their AC cars without bothering about common man. Have you heard about any politician/minister contributing to CM or PM relief funds for corona, although most of them are many times crorepatis, why all these are expected from common man.
Initially , I have decided not to write on the subject of Corona, but looking at the mess in which Mumbai has landed, made me write this blog.
Waiting for your comments/views/feed backs.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
2oth Apr 2020.
R. N. Mungale.
I agree with Mr. Malik.