Covid-19 lockdown: Rule with a tender touch, not iron hand

The experience of the lockdown has been mixed. While its extension was warranted to arrest the spread of Covid-19, now it needs to be executed with lessons learnt

The experience of the lockdown has been mixed. While its extension was warranted to arrest the spread of Covid-19, now it needs to be executed with lessons learnt in the last few weeks. It is fine for the law enforcing authorities to be strict, but people’s problems too need to be resolved with sincerity.

The government and people need to take care of the needs of the underprivileged during the lockdown. (ISTOCK)

It is not easy to sit at home, even though one retired as a Colonel from the Army years ago. Inactivity and lack of outdoor exercise take their toll. Think of those who have been laid off, lost their jobs, and those whose salaries have been slashed by over 30%. Most of all, the heart goes out to the millions of daily wagers in the country who are without work today. Most of them are without a roof over their heads, at the mercy of others for food and shelter. Where is their dignity and self-respect? They are missing their families and parents, possibly living hundreds of kilometers away, who could also be suffering .

That is why many of them are protesting, earlier at Surat, and now in Mumbai’s Bandra. They want to go home to be with their families, and old parents, to look after them. Their anxiety is understandable.

Taking care of daily wagers

This is why I feel the lockdown should be imposed carefully. It should be humane. These daily wagers should have been taken care of in a much better way. Most of them have migrated to the metropolises from smaller towns and villages. They do not have ration cards where they work, so they are deprived of government welfare schemes like free ration or monetary help.

The Delhi government made a sincere effort to house them centrally at a number of facilities, giving them regular food. Kerala also looked after its people well, and arrested the infection. Why couldn’t Maharashtra do it? Why were these poor people sleeping on the bridge/open areas without regular food or water?

The rich and the advantaged are the ones who have brought coronavirus to India from abroad because of which the poor are getting infected.

Yes, these are the disadvantaged communities that have helped the rich become wealthier by building their properties and working in their industries.

Aren’t they then entitled to a dignified life?

From canvassing to door-to-door feeding

Remember election time, when every MP and MLA candidate makes it a point to visit each poor man’s house with folded hands for votes? The whole party machinery is activated, with cadres and local leaders reaching out to each and every family in their constituency, making tall promises for their welfare. Now, in a lockdown, with the poor going hungry, where are those leaders? Why can’t they visit each house now with the same gusto and ensure the welfare of their people? Why can’t they ensure that a basic minimum amount is given even to those who do not possess the ration card of the place they work in? Why can’t they reach out to the families of the migrants in Uttar Pradesh or Bihar and assure them that their sons and daughters are in safe hands?

Yes, the government has to do more. It has to ensure the mental and physical health of people, particularly of the migrants and daily wagers. It is not the iron hand, but a warm heart which will make the extended lockdown a success.

We the people also need to be responsible citizens. Let each one of us adopt a poor family in our lane, street, locality, and take care of them during the lockdown. Let’s share our blessings and emerge as better persons. The nation then is bound to win.

The writer is a star blood donor, and at present the convenor, INTACH, Ambala Chapter. Views expressed are personal.