The two are interlinked and entwined to a larger extent. While it becomes the top priority of the Government and the administrative apparatus to enforce very strictly the lockdown in order to fight and stop the spread of the corona virus, especially when the number of persons testing positive was increasing in Jammu and Kashmir, it equally is their responsibility to ensure that regular supply chain of essential commodities did not get affected. It is not an ordinary curfew like situation where it is entirely a different scenario both by its nature and tenor, it is a minimum of 21 days sitting indoors and venturing out only under extremely compelling circumstances, that also taking utmost precautions of social distancing and wearing protective masks etc. There are conflicting reports about the position of stocks of essential commodities in Jammu city. While it is believed that the present stocks would suffice only for a week as the exhausted ones were not being replenished by fresh supplies, on the other hand, Government claimed that on an average 300 trucks were arriving with the fresh supplies every day in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
It has to be borne in mind that when normal equations are sought to be disturbed even for a great cause, care needs to be taken that any type of lackadaisical or casual approach, though innocently taking place, could invite more problems. There are ten districts in Jammu region where supply chain should never be disturbed but if the views, rather apprehensions of the Jammu wholesale traders are to be believed, in informing that trucks with grocery items and other essential goods from Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana have been stopped at various places in Punjab, then that rebuts the claims of the Government about undisrupted supplies and regular arrival of trucks. At least, about the prevailing position, there should regularly be not only proper monitoring by the administration but informing the public about all the necessary steps, the administration was taking on almost daily basis. In this most important area, much needed to be done about up-dating of information and awareness about various steps taken by the administration and facilities arranged to be provided.
It is a matter of satisfaction that only after the Divisional Commissioner Jammu spoke to traffic authorities in Punjab, the held up trucks were allowed to proceed towards this end but what is needed is arranging things not on piecemeal basis. We are constantly getting calls from the residents even from Poonch, Rajouri, Udhampur, Doda, Kathua and several places about most of the items having been reported to be not available in the market especially mustard oil, dry milk powder, butter, tea leaves of branded companies and other numerous items. It is a natural corollary that one tries at different shops which otherwise too are only few to find things needed but they in the process, face police harassment. Whatever is available from the Warehouse, is not even accessible to most of the shopkeepers as they cannot lift the supplies nor are in most of the cases , the vehicles allowed to ferry supplies from there to retail outlets. It may be noted that most of the supplies of essential items to Kashmir division too are made from here.
At least, availability of milk, milk products, fresh vegetables and fruit etc must be arranged to be made available through more channels to discourage frequent venturing out of homes by the desirous and needy people. Even potatoes , fruit etc are not available easily but prices are being charged on the higher side. Issuing of passes for moving around is not known on which basis and with what ease and where being arranged by the administration as in the absence thereof, people face difficulties and harassment. Seizing of private vehicles by the police, if one moved about under extremely compelling circumstances, was another problem faced by the people. An ailing person for having some pathological tests conducted cannot, under normal circumstances, reach the concerned lab and have the report there from obtained easily, is reflective of half baked arrangements by the administration. Most of such labs are not opened and the District Administration should ensure services from and at such labs without disruptions since ailments are not subordinate to any regulations and restrictions. We, therefore urge the Government to look into these vital aspects on priority basis so that regular supplies of essential goods and medicines were not subjected to any type of disruptions. Now that orders have been issued by the Central Government even for allowing movement of non-essential goods, overall position must now vastly improve.
The other most important aspect of the current scare about the virus of corona is the timely appeal of the Chief Secretary to people not to panic nor nurse any worries looking to the number of suspected cases in the Union Territory. His claims about an aggressive testing campaign having been launched to detect the positive cases in time and that the preparedness and medical response and other mechanism in the UT were far better than many states in the country, would be known by the results on the ground in due course. He, however, assured the public of the resolve of the administration in overcoming the crisis very soon and hence the need to remaining calm and composed. We assure citizens of our commitment to regularly monitoring of the situation.
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