Not a day passes when one does not hear of friends, acquaintances and relatives succumbing to this deadly pandemic that has come to haunt the country for the second time. Unlike the first wave, the second wave is more lethal and appears to be never-ending. Frontline workers, mostly doctors and paramedical staff, have been caught unawares and have been doing their best given the limitations, some unanticipated and some due to the lack of vision of the authorities.
In the past one month, I have personally lost at least 20 of my associates, who were not only close to me during various stages of my life, but were fellow travelers as well. The feeling of helplessness has come to dominate virtually every mind and with deaths taking place on such a rapid scale, families are scurrying for what they consider to be a safe environment. The shortage of oxygen has reflected how those entrusted with the charge of managing the epidemic have failed us. Every international TV channel has featured India’s growing casualty rate during primetime and our own electronic media too has been over playing the depressing news on a daily basis. Newspapers, who have been starved of advertisements in the past year, have suddenly found a new lease of life, ironically through obituary advertisements, placed mostly by the rich and the famous. The Times of India, the largest circulated daily in the NCR, has been on occasions carrying two Obituary pages, something which has never happened in the past. All this is adding to the panic and fear that has gripped the people. Medical experts have been expressing their opinion on a daily basis; AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria, for instance, is on national TV the whole time, trying to educate people regarding various theories, some unfounded and some real.
While all this is happening, the economy has gone into the red zone. It is not uncommon to run into small children and their parents helplessly looking for food since they have no way of fending for themselves in these difficult times. Even in residential colonies, women and children ring call bells asking for food or financial help. However, unscrupulous people continue to make money, taking advantage of the situation. The authorities in their eagerness to enforce the lockdown seem to have forgotten that there were smokers and alcoholics, who would find it difficult to give up their habits overnight. As a consequence, cigarettes and alcohol are being sold in the black market at exorbitant rates all over the NCR.
India indeed is passing through a very critical phase. Although the government has advised vaccination for those above the age of 18, many have not been able to get themselves vaccinated because of multiple reasons. The need of the hour is better coordination between the various agencies of the government as also between the Centre and the states. This is a collective fight and should be viewed that way. Of course, once things are under control, accountability for the failure to plan ahead should be fixed.