Who is responsible for Corona’s death?

Death cases in India are on continuous rise and are crossing the new heights every day, causing an environment of immense pain, hue and cry everywhere. As per the reports of national or international dailies, there is a shortage of hospitals, beds, medical personnel and equipment, and oxygen, leading to the number of deaths rising every day. Waiting or long queues are seen everywhere, and even harsh it when the person dies, the cremation ground is not available. That is, there are long queues in the crematorium. Can’t understand whether there is a lack of oxygen in the country or lack of understanding with people? And, even here- Is there political understanding or social understanding which is absent?

We are the residents of our country, where this saying resonates from house to house that- the king thy the subjects. Means like the king, like would be its subjects. When the first case of corona virus came in the country in January-February last year. After this, the number of infected started increasing by March. That time, due to the lack of essential medical resources, a lockdown was imposed in the country on the orders of the Prime Minister. For example, no one should stay out of the house. This was an order that was accepted by all. That is, everyone complied with the Prime Minister’s order- be it ruling party, or opposition. To the people, the Prime Minister even told to beat the dishes, do clapping, light the lamps, show the mobile torchlight, the entire country did that as well.

Today these things have passed over a year. Those who had money, have bought the medicines and survived while the poor spent their difficult times with the help of superstition, worship, and faith. Well, after several months passed, signs of relief appeared. Many people lost their jobs while many managed to work in half of their salary. Everyone accepted that it was an international disaster. Now, here can we call it lack of social understanding? Definitely not! Because the 300 million people did what the king ordered them for.

Now, by September 2020, cases of covid-19 infection in India started falling slowly. Then the Government issued some relaxations, and things started restoring gradually.  In those days, it reached the level of 93 thousand every day, but there was a sharp decline after this.

The Prime Minister’s order was that in view of the Corona epidemic, we should not take any kind of negligence during the festival season. He asked people to wear masks and continue following social distancing norms. But it seemed that his message probably never reached the leaders of his party and the people of Bihar as the first phase of voting in the assembly elections in Bihar to be held on October 28. There were big political rallies in Bihar for the election campaign, and a large crowd of people was also gathering in these rallies.

All the parties, which are coming down in the electoral arena, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, intensified the campaign. Ignoring his own message, the Prime Minister himself organized 12 rallies. The crowd attending these rallies could be hardly seen covering their mouths or wearing a mask. Although there was a lot of debate on this, but who opposed these actions were labelled as traitor.

After this, we also produced the vaccine and India reached the leading position in the list of countries fighting Corona. Yes, in the beginning of March this year, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had announced that the covid-19 epidemic in India is now moving towards an end. Along with this announcement, the Health Minister had praised the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that it has presented a vision of international cooperation in front of the world. India started supplying the vaccine to other countries from January itself under its much-publicized vaccine diplomacy.

By the middle of February, only 11 thousand cases were coming every day. The weekly average of the dead who died every day had also fallen below 100. From politicians to policy-makers and a section of the media, it was truly accepted that India has now passed through this difficult period. Even in December, Reserve Bank of India officials also said that India is now moving towards the end of the Corona transition. The Indian economy is now moving from the long shadow of the winter season to the blazing bright days.

During that time, PM Narendra Modi was called as the Vaccine Guru. At the end of February, the Election Commission announced assembly elections in five states. The number of voters who are contesting from 824 seats in these states is 18.60 crore. The voting, which began on March 27, was to last for more than a month. Elections were announced in eight phases in West Bengal, while this work could be done in three phases but after that the election campaign started with full vigor.

Meanwhile, one lakh 30 thousand spectators were allowed to watch two international one-day matches between India and England at Gujarat’s Narendra Modi Stadium in mid-March. Most of them wore masks without wearing them. Apart from this, acceptance of Kumbh Mela’s conduct was also given in Haridwar, in which a huge gathering of about 31 lakh devotees was seen. Apart from this, people started gathering in the temples, mosques, and gurdwaras as before. All these and many more such events have thrown India on the alarming breakdown of public health with raised infections and deaths every day and everywhere.

India is now completely under the grip of public health emergency. Social media is filled with the photos and videos of the last rites of those who died due to Covid. Crowded crematoriums and graveyards can be easily seen in these pictures. Other countries stopped travel from India and news of death can now be learnt without newspaper or TV, even your neighbours can tell you.

Seeing that that line of Amrita Pritam’s poem is fresh in the mind that there is a fire in this world, you can save yourself with your fate only. Crying families of the dead are seen outside the hospitals. There are queues of ambulances loaded with helpless patients. There is no place for corpses in the morgue. Many times, two patients are required to lie on a bed. Patients are also being treated in the corridors and lobbies of hospitals. Hospital beds, covid medicines, oxygen, life saving medicines and tests are in a tizzy. Medicines, oxygen are being sold in the black market and it is taking several days to come to the test results.

In a video, a woman sitting outside the ICU is telling that she has been told about the demise of her father 6 hours after his death and now the corpse has not been handed over for 3 days. No one can count those many videos roaming on social media. People are claiming that it is the failing of king, system, democracy and now India is in God’s hand. Simply put, who is now seen as responsible for these deaths, Corona or Society Or System? Because the countries next to us are Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal or Myanmar, where the situation is under control. Perhaps the answer has been buried in the huge trains of politicians and amid the changing slogans of power.

BY- Rajeev Choudhary

https://readerblogs.navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/likha-ret-par/who-is-responsible-for-death-due-to-corona/