Migrants labour movement and impending economic problems have added to the challenges before the authorities in India in their battle against COVID19.
A large number of people have started moving out from Delhi and adjoining areas of Noida and started moving towards smaller
places and their respective native places increasing the fear of spread of the fatal virus in densely populated rural areas.
The federal Health ministry have revealed on Sunday evening that total number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 1,024 and these include 27 casualties.
India is locked down since March 24-25 midnight for 21 days and authorities are gradually resorting to harsher measures to ensure
people stay indoors and so that the necessary precautionary measure 'social distancing' is maintained.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday through a radio broadcast sought the nation's forgiveness for imposing the lockdown
"I am sure you will forgive me that you had to undergo so much trouble. You had to undergo problems but there is no other way out to fight the coronavirus....But this is a battle for life and death."
Though there is general welcome from social organisations and political parties including church leaders and bodies for the mandatory lock down, there has been criticism too on the ground that the government has been caught 'unprepared' for dealing with the threat to life posed by coronavirus.
"Regrettably, unpreparedness has been the hallmark of the Modi government since the first case that tested positive was known on January 30. ....Only 12,000 tests per day were being done, casting a cloud on the number reported to be infected," wrote senior Congress leader and a former Home Minister, P Chidambaram, in an article in 'The Indian Express'.
As the federal government, police and state authorities faced multiple challenges including the movement of migrant labourers
from urban hubs to rural pockets and smaller hamlets, a report from business chamber FICCI drew a gloomy picture of Indian
economy.
- Large scale shutdown of factories and resulting delay in supply of goods from China have affected many Indian manufacturing sectors. Sectors like automobiles, pharmaceuticals, electronics, chemical products etc. are facing an imminent raw material and component shortage.
Besides having a negative impact on imports of important raw materials, the slowdown in manufacturing activity in China and other markets of Asia, Europe and the US is impacting India’s exports to these countries as well, the report said.
The government of India on Sunday announced setting up of as many as 11 empowered groups to suggest measures
to improve healthcare mechanism, put the economy back on track and reduce misery of common people.These empowered panels of senior officials and experts will work to draw out integrated response to COVID-19 and will report and work under guidance of P K Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, officials said.
The Department of Expenditure under Finance Ministry has issued special instructions to enable expeditious decision making in procurement matters, an official communique said.
Special emphasis will have to be laid on welfare schemes for the poor, it has been underlined as
these sections have faced the direct brunt of lockdown on account of acute employment problem.
Thus, the poor and vulnerable sections of the society are the key focus of the government.
Out of 1.3 billion Indians, a sizeable number sleep for example on pavements in cities or in railway stations and temple sheds in rural areas and smaller towns.
State authorities including in West Bengal, instructions have been issued to every district to make adequate arrangements of temporary shelters for the poor people and migrant workers.
A large number of labourers, who have been uprooted from Delhi and other states and reached underdeveloped state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India on Sunday said shortage of food and money had forced them to resort to this 'reverse migration'
to their homes.
A large number of people have been moving towards smaller towns like Kanpur, Ballia, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Ayodhya, Basti, Pratapgarh, Sultanpur, Amethi, Gonda, Etawah and Bahraich --- the places from where generally people of
all socio-economic and caste background otherwise migrate to cities like Delhi and Mumbai looking for greener pastures.
Incidentally, some observers and critics are comparing Prime Minister's announcement of 21-day lockdown with
demonetisation of high value currency that was ordered for over a month in November 2016 and that had played havoc
with country's economy and common people's lives.
"Narendra Modi government takes pride in airlifting stranded Indians from Wuhan, Iran and Italy during COVID crisis
and earlier also during other catastrophes, but no planning was on sight for poor and lower middle class Indians
who have gone jobless and virtually shelterless due to lockdown," lamented Vidyarthi Kumar, a newspaper columnist.
Bishnu Thapa, a social worker in East Delhi says, "The central and the Prime Minister should have ensured that nobody goes hungry. Authorities should have organised community kitchens so that those who do no have money or case can survive the lockdown period".
No wonder in his monthly radio broadcast on Sunday, March 29, Prime Minister sounded candid and to an extent
admitting the limitation of a government intervention to deal with the crisis without people's cooperation.
"For the next many days, you have to continue displaying this patience; abide by the Lakshman Rekha (self imposed restrictions). But there are some who are violating norms since they are not trying to understand the gravity of the matter.
.....The world over, many people nursed this delusion….all of them are regretting now. Friends, we are familiar with our adage “Aarogyam Param Bhagyam, Swasthyam Sarwaarth Sadhanam” -which means good health is the greatest fortune."
If the fight against COVID19 has just begun, so has the woes of the Prime Minister and his embattled government like the world over.
India officially has 1.77 million homeless people. How will they quarantine themselves at home?
Circumstances can be often cruel and ruthless whereas the sentimentality could be different and emotive. This is the dichotomy staring at India today as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day long complete lockdown in order to fight the coronavirus virus.
Political decisions can often be ruthless and are rarely sympathetic. But in times of an emergency, such categorizations may defy logic. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to shut down India was such an emergency decision.
Modi gave just a four-hour notice to India's 1.3 billion people to shut down all public activities and stay inside their homes for 21 days, starting from midnight of March 24, to help fight the spread of coronavirus. Police are on the streets to implement the complete shutdown of India.
The decisive step came as positive cases of infection reached 536, with 10 deaths. The government aims to arrest "community spread" of the virus among densely populated towns and cities where the spread of the virus could spell disaster.
Anyone breaking the three-week lockdown by just coming out of their homes could be punished up to two years in jail. The stringent measures, let us hope, will check the spread of the disease.
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| Photo: Federal.com |
However, there are some nagging questions. India officially has 1.77 million homeless people. They sleep on the sidewalks or in rail or bus stations. Where will they go to home quarantine themselves? How will the state check the spread of the virus among them?
An estimated 23 percent of Indians or some 276 million people live on less than 100 rupees (US1.25) a day. They live below the poverty line, not having enough to have a full meal a day. The majority of these people are daily laborers, such as those who work in wayside restaurants or as rickshaw pullers. When they cannot work for 21 days straight, how are they expected to feed themselves and their families?
India has a workforce of 400 million people, roughly one third of its population. However, only about 10 percent of them enjoy the benefits of a fixed salary. In other words, 360 million people depend on their daily engagement to put food on the plates for their families, each having four people on average.
They include countless housemaids, millions of faceless farmhands, unskilled laborers on construction sites, contract laborers like masons, carpenters, roadside vendors and India's noted chai-wala or roadside tea sellers, which Modi claimed to be as a teenager.
People, in general, appreciate the prime minister's intention. But the poor lament the fact that their government spared no thought for their survival in such a lockdown, which stopped work of all sorts for three weeks.
"You have to remember that life is more important than anything else and survival is the key ... One can conquer only if he has life," Modi said, using stylish Hindi and sounding helpless about the impact of the killer disease.
If Indians cannot handle these 21 days of lockdown, "you will set your families and the country 21 years behind," he warned.
The lockdown, done for the survival of all Indians, now threatens the survival of millions of poor people. Opposition parties are asking the government to find ways to help the poor and ensure ordinary people have enough supplies of food and water.
"We ask Prime Minister Modi with folded hands not to leave thousands of common people and poor people to their fate," opposition Congress party leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said. He said the lockdown should have come with some government support to the poor who survive on daily earnings.
Former finance minister and Congress party leader P. Chidambaram tweeted that he is "certain the PM understands the urgency of announcing a financial package and putting cash in the pockets of the poor."
He said Modi's announcement had left him with a "mix of emotions — relief, vindication, frustration, disappointment." If people cannot even step out of their homes, "how are farmers going to harvest their crops beginning April 1?"
The official measure of poverty in India is Rs 33 in urban areas and Rs 27 in rural pockets.
Studies have revealed that Muslims, formerly called low caste untouchables, casual and unorganized sectors workers in urban hubs and faceless farmers fall under the category of poorest Indians.
Prime Minister's lockdown announcement did not seem to have taken care of these communities.
"We understand the importance of healthcare and life in view of coronavirus. But how can we survive without public exposure ? We live from hands to mouth and PM's announcement has taken away my hands," protests Jeetan Nai, a barber in East Delhi.
Similar would be the fate of countless housemaids and other helping hands.
Of course, one of them said here that Primer Minister has said in his radioand televised speech on March 20 that all house maids and such menial workers would have to be given their entire months salary for sustenance.
However, skepticism remains.
"Some people are kind hearted and will pay us, more so as the Prime Minister has said so. But in India and especially in Delhi, some households have different approach to poor people and life. They are all self seeking and may not pay us," laments Kamli kumari, an helping hand.
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| File snap: Godhra, Gujarat |
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 29, he highlighted the plight of the poor and called for steps other than the lockdowns announced by India and some developed nations to tackle the deadly disease.
"It is critical for us to understand that India's conditions are unique. We will be required to take different steps from other large countries who are following a total lockdown strategy," Gandhi wrote.
"The number of poor people who are dependent on a daily income is simply too large for us to unilaterally shut down all economic activity. We must immediately strengthen the social safety net and use every public resource we have to support and shelter the working poor."
