OPEN LETTER – Covid
19
Date: March 31, 2020
To:
The Chief Minister,
Government
of Goa,
Govt.
Secretariat
Porvorim,
Goa.
Sir,
I
am compelled to express my utter disappointment with the Goa Government's
disoriented and panicked response to the Covid 19 pandemic over the last one
week. With a senior and experienced medical professional at the helm of affairs
in this State, I expected a much more professional and humane approach to this
communicable / infectious disease which threatens the health of citizens in Goa
and the country. The Government needs to bear in mind that the fight against
Covid 19 disease is about a medical emergency to protect the life of citizens,
and not about any political emergency to protect against some terrorist threat
to the sovereignty and integrity of the nation, or the State. Therefore, a
fascist approach to prevention and control of a disease by enforcing a curfew
with lathis and bullets is not the solution and becomes self-defeating in a
democracy.
India
cannot copy-paste the China and North Korea political model of responding to a
crisis. India is a diverse country with tremendous socio-economic disparities
in its population. The Government cannot punish its citizens, particularly
those sections which live a hand-to-mouth existence, to cover up its gross
criminal negligence in taking timely measures for preparedness, prevention and
control of the Covid 19 pandemic. The Government needs to apologise to its
citizens for the tremendous hardships and police terror, which they have been
subjected to under the pretext of the Covid 19 prevention and control program
and make amends.
The Ground Situation
It
is my humble appeal that the Government stop confusing the public with mixed,
inconsistent and deceptive messaging, which is only contributing to further
panic and is the root cause for risky public behaviour, which in turn is used
as an excuse to further suppress civil liberties. While the Government claims
that groceries and markets will be open 24x7, which is a lie, some Elected
Representatives, 'karyakartas and rakshaks' enjoying patronage of the
government are being given a free hand in imposing shut downs in markets,
terrorising migrants and exercising monopoly in diverting essential commodities
to certain constituencies. It is the uneven and unequal availability of
essential commodities that makes public anxious and causes them to flock to
various shopping centres. If public follows safe distancing at medical stores
then it will also follow the same at markets provided there is no shortage of
commodities.
Another
disaster is the menace of political karyakartas and good samaritans roaming
freely in the guise of providing humanitarian aid, as if they possess some
special immunity against the virus which other citizens do not possess. In
fact, the centralisation of home delivery system is as much risky for the
spread of the deadly virus as the crowding in a market place, because the basic
requisites of sanitisation and hygiene is not being followed. These
distribution centres are not sanitised periodically and the volunteers are not
tested for Covid 19, thereby leaving a possibility of these centres themselves
becoming the official store houses and distributors for the disease. It is such arrogant and preferential approach
adopted by the Government that is hampering the battle in efficiently
preventing and controlling the spreading of the disease in Goa by complicating
the situation.
Further,
the fight against this communicable disease requires that the immune system of
citizens is not compromised as a result of such lock-downs and hardships, or
else the gravity of this crisis may get compounded. The false bravado of
surviving on tea and 'kanji' as in war times, which is being touted in social
media by political cheer leaders of the government, will prove self-defeating.
In fact, citizens must have access to quality food and encouraged to eat
nutritious food, breathe fresh air and exercise daily to build their immune
system and preserve their mental health. If not, there could be more citizens
dying from other physical, mental, psychological complications / ailments than
from the Covid 19 disease itself. The fascist approach of lathi and gun with
prolonged lock-downs will be counter-productive as it may only drive citizens
into indulging in high risk behaviours clandestinely, the consequences of which
will be far more disastrous.
Suggestions
1.
It is my humble appeal that the Government of Goa should immediately take all
Elected Representatives into confidence, of both legislature and local bodies
and irrespective of political affiliations, to assess the situation and put in
place effective prevention and control mechanisms to tackle this medical
crisis. Creating fear psychosis by exaggerating the problem to keep people
indoors is no solution.
2.
The strategy needs to adopt a decentralised and bottom-up federal approach in
the fight against Covid 19 which emerges from the Panchayat and Municipal ward,
level, instead of the top-down centralised approach which has been currently
adopted. The groceries along with other essential commodities and medical
facilities must be equitably made available at the ward / neighborhood level,
whereby citizens do not feel the need to run helter skelter. Thereby, any
contamination with the disease will remain contained in the ward itself and
much easier to detect and monitor.
3.
This medical emergency needs a participatory approach wherein every citizen
feels respected and responsible in this battle to prevent the spread of the
disease. Any disease prevention and control program can only become successful
by adopting an approach of love, understanding, trust and compassion.
I
hope the Government of Goa will take various suggestions / criticisms emerging
from various quarters positively, instead of viewing every dissenting opinion
as political opposition to the government. It is said, 'many hands make light
work'. Let’s fight this medical crisis together democratically.
Yours
Sincerely,
Soter D'Souza
Aggrieved
Citizen
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