As the reports indicate, the Jammu and Kashmir administration is seriously thinking of re-imposing lockdown as necessitated by the alarming increase in Covid-19 positive cases and deaths related to the infection. On Saturday even, 11 Covid related deaths were reported (9 in Kashmir and 2 in Jammu region) besides the number of infected people in the Union Territory has already crossed 10, 000. The spike in the positive cases has been witnessed following Unlock-1 and Unlock-2. The situation is alarming and if immediate corrective measures are not taken up quickly, Kashmir seems heading towards a health disaster which its fragile health infrastructure can’t handle.
Given the alarming situation, one needs to analyze the attitude and response of both the administration and the citizenry towards the pandemic. Following the Unlock – 1 & 2, the people behaved irresponsibly and came out to resume their day-to-day jobs throwing all the precautions to the winds. A minimum number of people are putting on face masks and not many people are giving a damn to social distancing. While the authorities and the medical experts have repeatedly been telling people not to venture out unless it is too necessary, people of the Valley seem in an outing mode and throng markets and other places as if Corovirus doesn’t exist at all.
The authorities too have added to the mess. By announcing commencement of Amarnath Yatra and by throwing gardens and parks open, the administration itself has indicated that it too is not that serious about containing the spread of the deadly virus. These decisions have been taken despite the fact that Covid-19 is out on a killing spree and has already claimed 171 lives and infected more than 10,000 people. In such a situation, one would have expected the UT administration to be busy trying and finding the ways and means to scuttle the dangerous spread of the deadly virus instead steps are being announced that give people a sense of normality and thus encourage them to throw all the precautions to the wind. The people have already started taking the risks posed by Coronavirus very easy. During lockdown period, people behaved responsibly and there was a hope that peoples’ responsive attitude will help flatten the deadly curve of the Coronavirus. However, with the easing of restrictions, people too started becoming more complacent helping the virus to spread more ferociously.
An unimaginative administration and an irresponsible citizenry is pushing Kashmir towards a complete disaster. Need is to go for corrective measures and to begin with, the authorities need to re-impose restrictions on peoples’ movement in the areas which are worst hit by the pandemic. People too have to realize that by avoiding the set protocols, to fight the spread of virus, they are not only risking their own lives but the lives of others too. Every individual, who roams around without wearing a mask and doesn’t maintain social distance is a like a like a suicide bomber. He/she will not end up his/herself but will also risk the lives of others too.
