The State launched itself into a partial lockdown for 3 days while Covid continued to play havoc with lives killing 36 people. While Goa is brought to its knees, the whimsical partial shutdown has pushed the State into utter chaos and confusion leaving sections, including the transport sector and business establishments wondering which way to go.
The announcement of the weekend lockdown in Goa triggered an immediate exodus of migrants who began moving out of the State fearing an extended lockdown and citizens in cities and villages made beelines at supermarkets to stock up on groceries and consumables ahead of time because there was no clarity. Little did anyone realize that this is not a lockdown in the strict sense of the word and that life will not be severely impacted.
Ironically, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant who went live on Facebook on Wednesday to announce the lockdown failed to realise that he is reaching out only to the tech-savvy citizens, keeping out a vast section of people who don't have access to digital platforms. Even under the current partial lockdown, the CM who engaged panchayat members in virtual mode should have used the grassroots workers to ensure that the nitty-gritty of the lockdown is explained to people.
The government machinery has taken positions ahead of the lockdown, but even police are confused about enforcement because there are sectors that are allowed to operate following the SOPs. For example, restaurants, fish markets, shops and establishments, banks and other service sectors are allowed to function, so are wedding celebrations with a cap on the crowd. The exceptions will only make policing difficult.
The chief minister has made it sound easy shifting focus to timely testing, little realizing that people are having nightmares going through that ordeal. There are serpentine queues witnessed at health centres, that too in complete violation of social distancing, which itself could act as a transmission hotspot. Yes, we agree with the CM that breaking the Covid chain is not the sole responsibility of the doctors and the medical fraternity and citizens do have a significant role to play. But, Goans are faced with a helpless situation. The much-talked-about kits are not available, and suspects in distress who are told to rush for medical help can't reach out to a doctor because the medical infra is heavily overloaded. By asking people to rush for medical help, hospitals are put through enormous pressure only driving them to a point of collapse. The chief minister's assessment is completely a mismatch with the ground situation.
Given the scale of infection, states like Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh and others have clamped stringent lockdown-type restrictions, even mulling complete shutdown if there is no improvement. For a small state like Goa, to lose 30-36 lives every day is catastrophic. At this stage, we cannot employ wait-and-watch methods but need stringent measures. Sawant has by and large remained insensitive to this huge human tragedy that has unfolded in Goa.
