Public Health Tragedy, Economic Tragedy or, just Human Tragedy

Today morning I got up a little early to get some me time which is a luxury in these lockdown days. Over my morning cuppa, I switched on the television to catch up with the latest news. Though the TV and mobile apps can’t replace the morning papers and their aroma which took away a good part of my morning time from last so many years but I surely can’t crib over such an emotional loss when our very survival is at stake. With little nostalgia, I tried to concentrate on the news pieces flashing over my idiot box. I was concentrating to understand the new rules and regulations for Lockdown 4.0. This lockdown was truly a boon as it helped us increase the chances of staying safe and bonding more with our immediate family at the same time.

While surfing channels, I landed on the report of lathicharge of migrant workers in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa. Here a lot of migrant workers were stuck on the UP-MP border without adequate arrangements of food or, modes of travel to their native towns. After waiting in these inhumane conditions for several hours these workers protested and police lathicharged to maintain the law and order, in turn injuring several of them. This wasn’t a standalone case, and in a similar incident Andhra Pradesh police lathicharged on around 150 workers on a bridge between Guntur and Krishna districts. Similar reports were coming from Haryana and UP as well. These reports made me sit back and think, is this lockdown a solution, or beginning of another problem?

Right now, these workers are just trying to reach their villages but how will they feed their families back home as well. Had there been enough opportunities to earn their living in those places then why would these labourers had chosen to migrate in the first place. After this slowdown in the economy coz of the current lockdowns, there would be fewer ways to make an honest living. Aren’t these migrant labourers part of our country? How will they survive in these times?

Though under COVID relief package several schemes are announced to provide respite to poor and needy, like Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan package (PMGKB) providing free food grains to poor, and increased funds been allocated for MNREGA scheme to generate employment. But are these measures sufficient?

According to the Centre for the Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the unemployment rate in Rural India has jumped from 7% in March to almost 23% as of now. About 84% of households surveyed by the CMIE reported a decline in the income with only 54% of households claiming to have provisions to last a week. As many as 93% households with monthly incomes between Rs.3,800 and Rs.5,914 reported an income loss, while 83% of those earning less than Rs.3,800 per month reported having lost all or part of their income due to the current lockdown. Considering the previous scams that rural schemes have faced how can we ensure that the needy will get the promised help from the government schemes. As an Indian tax paying citizen, I am very skeptical.

Hope we aren’t repeating the mistakes made by the then British government in 1918, which used draconian measures to control the spread of Bubonic plague in the city of Bombay (present-day Mumbai). These measures forced the workers to flee to their native towns, dropping the population of the city and spreading the epidemic in the far-flung regions.

This is a peculiar situation where we are facing the dilemma of choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea. Will we overcome and do the right thing for the citizens of the country despite their class, caste, creed, or economic status.

We are bound to face either the public health tragedy or, the economic tragedy which can lead to violent situations as hunger is the world’s biggest and oldest pandemic.

May we all be blessed!!