We have all along been endorsing and supporting every measure and decision taken by the UT administration of Jammu and Kashmir towards containing and checking the spread of the Corona virus pandemic. There being no other alternative except total and complete lockdown to break the vicious but fast spreading chain of the said virus which speaks of wholehearted support by the general public given to the administration which bore encouraging results that helped the Union Territory administration tightening its grip over the grave crisis. Since there should be no room for any complacency and absolutely no dilution in the vigil so that the gains made so far by making the hard choices could not get fritted away in any case. At the same time, efforts are needed to be taken side by side though cautiously, which result in limping back to near normalcy with ultimate goal to reach corona virus free status to start usual daily business again.
We are, however, not fully comprehending the rationale behind reviewing the decision to slip Jammu district down from orange zone to red zone when comparative better results vis-a-vis the outcome of both the lockdowns were noticed. Earlier, orange zone districts were notified as Jammu, Ramban, Reasi, Udhampur and Rajouri. We have no qualms with few districts or zones in the Union Territory being declared as red zones or hotspots depending upon the number of cases testing positive but what about those zones with negligible or nil fresh positive cases continued to be categorised as red zones. There must be compelling reasons which prompted the Jammu and Kashmir administration overruling the categorization order on zones as mentioned in the communiqué by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. In other words, Jammu district along with Kathua and Samba districts in Jammu region have been categorised as red zones. If it is on account of the anticipation or in apprehension of the fallout of the stranded persons moving into Jammu and Kashmir from other parts of the country, so is it with almost every state and UT which have not re-categorised or overruled Union Health Ministry orders on that count. Monitoring at originating and arriving points by the concerned officials in respect of movement of such stranded persons is to ensure that such persons, on reaching hometown, which would expectedly last nearly a fortnight, observed the post arrival protocol needed in respect of precautions against the virus including testing etc.
The third phase of lockdown started from May 4 and is to end on May 17 making the total days of shutdown to 55 or nearly two months which by any standards, is no less a period and where there were no other options. However, this has dealt a severe blow to the earnings and livelihood of the people who are retailers, shopkeepers, taxi-bus-auto owners and drivers, employees in private firms, hotels, lodge owners and employees, workers and employees in saloons, boutiques, bars, gyms, clubs, tea snack bars, eating and sweet shops and thousands of people engaged in ancillary roles attached in one or the other way with all these entities and earning livelihood. These categories of people are feeling the severest pinch of the extended restrictions and lockdown. That aspect has got to be seen and ways devised to pre-empt any eruption of restive, edgy and anxious feelings cumulatively of the people looking to their continued miseries as they have to run their households and feed their families. Liquidity crisis is and shall become the immediate outcome of the extended restrictions both in the market as well as with common marginal households which could explode in unimaginable proportions unless some urgent remedial measures were taken.
We, however, do not advocate any uncalculated and hasty move to be taken by the Government which has dimensions fraught with neutralising the gains mopped up so far. This is so especially with the grim reminder of the global colossal devastation caused by COVID-19 pandemic with 2.50 lakh deaths and over three and a half million total positive cases while we in India, with nearly 43000 positive cases and 1400 fatalities, however, are managing the crisis very strongly. Nevertheless, we also do not give our acquiesce in being total inelastic in not allowing economic activities restarting slowly in Jammu and Kashmir. It may be borne in mind, that people have, by now, fully learnt to maintain and observe all basic provisions of protocol of safety and they would work within those limitations till the weakest and ineffective residual remains too of the virus were totally finished and gone.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel