Lessons from Corona 2.0

The second wave of Corona is sweeping the country to such a terrible abyss nowadays that it has created appalling panic in the whole country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to address the nation, and had to tell what the government was doing to fight this epidemic; how will the lack of oxygen, beds, medicines be overcome. However, the Opposition leaders have accused the government of negligence, some of the same leaders have been caught by Corona. For, Corona is not discriminating about one’s caste, status, religion, province, etc. But the big question here is why is this epidemic spreading among lakhs of new people every day and how to combat it? The simple answer to this is that inattentiveness among the people was greatly increased. Against this backdrop, it is apt to say that a war has now started in India against Corona. The Governments at the Centre and the states, irrespective of any party, have begun all-out efforts to defeat Corona. Besides these governments, many people and organisations from different walks of life have come forward to serve humanity. Some people are giving oxygen free of cost, some are providing free food to the patients, some are collecting plasma-donors and there are others who are helping in sending the patients to hospitals.

We keep cursing our industrialists day and night but many industrialists have made arrangements for providing oxygen. They are doing this virtuous work voluntarily. There is no government pressure on them. On the initiative of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Air Force is sending oxygen to different parts of the country. In addition to this, retired medical personnel and doctors of the army are preparing to give relief from their disciplined service work in the Corona era. What is more, oxygen trains have started running. Thousands of tonnes of liquid oxygen tankers are reaching hospitals. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has also removed the oxygen-transportation charge. Millions of our doctors, nurses and service personnel are saving lives by risking their own. Now, preparations have also been made to install 551 oxygen plants from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. Having said this, it cannot be gainsaid that this Corona period has not only exposed the truth of our country’s health service infrastructure, but has also exposed the truth of dying human sensibilities to the society, which is seen in black marketing of life saving injection Remdesivir and oxygen. The time has come for us to learn a lesson from this period. Unite not only as an individual but as a society, come forward to protect humanity. After all, this is the identity of a civilised society.

By Deepak Kumar Rath

(editor@udayindia.in)