Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Night,
After almost 21 days of lock down we in India have had enough of -quotes from religious scriptures and prophecies, most not time tested -home-grown knowledge of medication advice from all and sundry -sometimes unsavory humor for all ages on the new corona virus some which could attract penal action -“be the first to know” snippets mostly from unverified sources Being confined to our dwelling units the only connect beyond the “lakshman rekha” albeit boundary line was to most of us -- unsolicited gossip. Those who had access to the essential necessity – no longer a luxury – viz the print and audio visual media, ---- social media, what Sapp, newspapers, radio, TV, internet, and mobiles et al to which we 'per force' glued to it---- it has indeed, during this period of trial and tribulation provided us a fantastic opportunity to separate the “chaff from the grain” in the information media. Possiblly many will discard the idiot boxes social media print media in the coming era You know, the 21 period is largely attributed to’ ….Eggs that are hatched to produce chickens ….Curing of concrete in the construction industry …. To usher in the first of the seven sacrament --- baptism and …. Now the corona virus to plateau and fade still unsure But, what this writer, who worked from home, observed during this grueling period was i) the Creator who designed the Earth its nature the air, water and land and living being is extremely fascinating and a marvelous; ii) of about 82% of the biomass on Earth 0.01% constitute human beings iii) most of these human beings appear to have a destructive mind -- never living In harmony with nature iv) changing the MINDSET of human beings which is indeed archaic takes beyond a generation or much more to do so v) pursuing a SCIENTIFIC TEMPER remains the luxury of only a miniscule few but not enough to bring about a change at the pace we would desire for a better world hence we stagnate - perish and die Einstein Archimedes encountered this dilema during their life time It was therefore not surprising that the old adage ‘PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE” advise had a few takers during this 21 day period. Even in our second most ” literate “ ( means ability to sign} and 25th tiniest state of this country –GOA, we could “not spare the rod to save the child…. As we all saw --- the use of the stick and few “baitakhs” squatting hops for a stretch .. drove home the point to -----send the message “ STAY HOME STAY FIT” meant to drive away the new CORONA VIRUS COVID -19 . Notwithstanding the fact that the trajectory this virus followed leaves questions --- Did the lockdown promote the spread of the virus OR was it the obvious step to harness its seemingly rapid spread OR would it not have been appropriate to conduct tests, tests, and only tests -- as the World Health Organisations advisory suggests and hold in -- Home quarantine -- ONLY those who had co-morbidly or underlying symptoms and live the asymptomatic ones free After all in the case of those tested persons who tested +ve for the new corona virus or were declared dead information on details of a) gender b) age c) blood group d) those administered BCG Bacillus Calmette Guerin vaccine in infancy e) comorbidity -underlying symptoms viz respiratory tract, pulmonary related ailments diabetes etc f) clinical report on exact cause of death (as needed to prefer an insurance claims ) based on genetic testing, is vital but not in the public domain till date in most affected countries notably China, Italy, Spain, France South Korea US India etc to name a few This will definitely be a point of debate in the coming days . But for an out break of an allegedly rapidly spreading disease which has no known cure a decision taken right or wrong as the situation emerges we will all agree will always remain the BEST DECISION A look forward as we enter the new phase –post lock down as we opt for a staggered restoration of activity It seems obvious as the nation and the world eventually rises from the “ashes” – the BIOLOGICAL WARFARE ----- is here to stay at least for beyond the next decade 2021 .. a NEW WORLD ORDER is being discreetly, slowly but surely being ushered in . Fresh Permutations and combinations will have to be given a look . Scientific temper, as against an archaic mindset, and out of the box thinking, will have to be the new order of the day. There is no room for complacency Our “NEW WARRIORS” Doctors, nurses, para medical workers health, workers, sanitation workers, waste management workers. Those in the field of pharmaceutical, medical apparatus, pathological labs, harnessed oxygen manufactures, and their allied industries etc. The various battalions of the INTERNAL SECURITY viz police forces para-military forces both at the State and Central level will take center stage to look into the internal defense of the countries human population against the biological enemy and needs to be reinforced. It would only be in the fitness of things if like our DEFENCE services viz ARMY, NAVY, AIRFORCE the HEALTH SERVICES cadre enlisting the NEW WARRIORS amd the INTERNAL SECURITY division to cover the length and breadth of the country and as also our borders on air land and sea will have to be created on war footing, appropriating a similar budget on the lines of the Defence services . Other infrastructure development can take a back seat for the moment unless extremely inevitable.Every life in the country needs to be protected from the pangs of hunger and hence our utmost priority will be Agriculture and allied industries. We need a healthy society . Other manufacturing industries, service sector can have a staggered resurgence on a case by case review --this will be a time bound – measure. Politics obviously could invoke a cease fire on amicable terms or else face the prospectss of a much deserved internal Emergency . The grass root level representatives should be re-inforced on an apolitical level at the village, municipal levels, in the country As ground level warriors they can constitute a well oiled administrative set up to measure up to such future health outbreaks. For these representatives have their ears to the ground. There is no doubt that given a free hand the bureaucracy has always measured up to the expectations Hence towards this view it is hoped that the best brains provide inputs in the social and other print and visual media in the coming days to make for a better world keeping -----HUMANS living in HARMONY with NATURE – as the guiding principle. GODFREY J. I. GONSALVES, BORDA, MARGAO, 403 602, GOA. (INDIA) +91 98221 58584 (24 HRS) [email protected]
