Punjab Extends Coronavirus Lockdown. Delhi Among the Worst-Hit States
Earlier people had thought that coronavirus will disappear as Modi had asked all Indians to burn candles and hit their kitchen utensils. But Modi’s totka (superstitious mischief) did not work.
By Rakesh Raman
Punjab becomes the second state in India to extend the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown until next month while Odisha has already announced the extension until April 30.
Although the Central Government headed by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has not taken any decision so far about the ongoing 21-day lockdown period which expires on April 14, it is expected that free movement will not be allowed for a few more weeks in all parts of India.
Earlier people had thought that coronavirus will disappear as Modi had asked all Indians to burn candles and hit their kitchen utensils. But Modi’s totka (superstitious mischief) did not work.
In fact, the coronavirus cases have increased manifold in the country, although the Central as well as the State Governments are releasing fudged figures about the disease.
As India lacks test and treatment facilities, the country of 1.4 billion is hardly doing any tests to know the exact number of coronavirus cases and fatalities. A recent research shows India may have 1.3 million coronavirus cases by next month – May 2020.
Meanwhile, a new study done by the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh suggests that coronavirus is likely to touch its peak by mid-September 2020 and may affect 58% of India’s population.
CORONAVIRUS IN DELHI
At present Delhi is among the worst-hit states, as chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is not taking proper steps to contain the spread of the virus. The Delhi bureaucrats in Kejriwal government are highly corrupt who are ignoring public complaints regarding coronavirus.
Of late, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India, has initiated disciplinary proceedings against four bureaucrats of Delhi Government for dereliction of duty regarding containment of the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
As Kejriwal is a habitual liar, he is announcing some negligibly low figures (a few hundred) about the coronavirus cases in Delhi. But he is deliberately hiding the fact that he has not made any arrangement for testing the potential patients.
How can you tell the number of cases without testing a proper representative sample of people from all parts of Delhi? There is a likelihood that hundreds of thousands of people are infected with coronavirus in Delhi and thousands are dying. But Kejriwal is not releasing the correct data.
Although Kejriwal claims that his Mohalla Clinics are popular throughout the world, he has stopped talking about these community clinics when they are needed to cure the coronavirus patients.
At present, the Delhi government is working in a freewheeling mode while the situation is going to exacerbate in the next couple of days.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He also creates and publishes a number of digital publications and research reports on different subjects.
