– Dr. Gitartha Talukdar
Isn't India having the most backward population with the world's brightest minds within it? The recent situation of Covid has revealed and proved it in facts. It might sound bitter but the truth is that we have always been acting dumb. And that is a valid reason that once a land of treasures has turned into a land of beggars. Casteism, inequality, poverty, depression, rapes, diabetics and what not?! We top in all the indices where we should not. Even a sane mind would be in muddle if asked to figure out the logic
behind such a dilapidated condition our country is in.
The most recent deadly situation we are in due to the second wave of Covid19 was very much evitable if we would have been a bit more careful and cautious. As a country we have been known for our craziness for the game of cricket but we like to play a game even more than that! The blame game. And upto such an extent that we like to blame someone else for us not taking precautions for ourselves. In the year 2020 when Covid19 was at its peak the government of India declared a countrywide strict lockdown starting
from 22nd March of the year. And that in turn hitted our people very badly, we had an economic downfall, people were dying out of poverty and hunger, many lost their jobs and all related dilemmas. So, as the first wave of Covid19 came under control the government started relaxing the strictness of the lockdown. Finally after vaccines were invented and its production started there was full unlocking. Despite constant advertisments in whatever media possible and the nagging callertune everytime you call a person stating "The new year has brought a new ray of hope in the form COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine developed in India is safe and effective and provides immunity against COVID. Trust the Indian vaccines. Please take vaccination when your turn comes and don't trust rumours. Even after taking vaccine continue to take all the required Covid precautions like wearing mask, maintaining social distance and washing hands.”; people ignored everything and started behaving in more irresponsible manner. It would be a deliberate lie if someone says that "I/we was/were not aware of a second wave of covid19" because internet is very much feasible nowadays. When we were not facing the issue of second wave of covid19 many other countries were already facing it and were reimposed with lockdowns by their respective governments. So, whose mistake it is that we were not paying attention to such information and acting carelessly?
We have always been known as a nation good with numbers. Isn't it foolishness that we were unable to figure out how much time it would take to fully vaccinate a country with 1.3 billion population. Wasn't it an act of irresponsibility to not follow the safety protocols even after knowing that a vaccine can't provide 100% protection from getting infected with the virus. When requested, we don't follow the protocols; when imposed, we anguish it to be a violation of our right to freedom. So, what is the government and
administration supposed to do? Shoot down protocol violators? Oh! Then it would be a violation of human rights. Even God helps them those who help themselves. Its our fate that we are going through such a situation.
We were quick enough to declare the people participating in Tablighi jammat in the month of March, 2020 (when there was just few hundreds of Covid positive cases in the country) responsible for spreading the virus. But we refrain from standing against participating in Kumbh mela in March, 2021 when more than
25000 Covid positive cases were there and is still soaring. We ignore everything and participate in political rallies, social programmes with pomp and gaiety. Isn't it stupidity on our part to not consider the severity of the virus that doesn't discriminate like our society? And for people, putting up logic defending such programs where there was huge social gatherings by saying, that the entry to the program was provided only after producing RT-PCR test result stating Covid negative, it is not necessary that you have the virus in your body while swab samples were being collected from your body for the RT-PCR but you can
definitely get infected with the virus the very next moment. So, stop supporting anyone indulging in such activities irrespective of religion, political party or anything else.
We have got no rights to question the government for not having enough hospital beds, for giving away vaccines to other countries when our own country is not self-sufficient to cater to the need of our own people, to get unnecessary fame, get praised for being messiah of the world; because we were the ones who voted for temples not for hospitals & hospital beds, for statues but not for basic infrastructures. We were the ones who voted and elected criminals and underqualified people to the parliament.
Its high time that we learn how to take responsibility of our own and not blame others for our mistakes. As of now, its not the time to panic but deal with the situation wisely. Referring to data 85.41% percent recovered and 2.08 percent died and remaining are active. This data is just with respect to the total world population. Compared to these percentages more people die every year in road traffic accidents and other diseases in India than the number of deaths occuring from Covid.
We have lost so many doctors during the first wave of Covid19 and even after that, so many doctors are suffering from anxiety and other side effects due to long hours of duty donning the suffocating PPE kits and young doctors staking their careers as they have to be on covid duty leaving aside their regular course and curriculum. I hope we respect these sacrifices and not let the hardwork and efforts put in by them go in vain. The second wave of Covid19 is more severe and intense with number of cases spiking high and faster than its previous wave, different variations of the Corona virus coming up in tests.
To keep the situation under control let us all follow the protocols of wearing masks, sanitizing or washing hands with soap or handwash at least after every 15minutes and maintaining social distance. Getting
tested on our own as soon as we have any similar and severe symptoms of the Covid19. And lets hope and pray that we get over this situation soon.
(The article was published in Gplus weekly newspaper in its May01 - May07, 2021 edition. The article differs from the one published in Gplus by some figures, as its updated with latest ones)