Shadow Correspondent
Jammu, May, 20
Former Minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla on Wednesday hailed UT Administration for conditional relaxation saying that relaxation was the dire need of the hour to halt the emerging poverty and deprivation of the people. He said Govt’s first and foremost priority should remain protecting the life and health of people of J&K and must be fully aware of the emerging unemployment and deprivation of people owing to lockdown. Phase wise and conditional relaxation in lockdown will not only enable the people to earn their bread and butter themselves but also ensure the implementation of preventive measures against coronavirus, he added.He urged all those who have been given relaxation to fully abide by the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and not only enforce them on themselves but also generalize the same. “They should not entertain any customer coming without a face mask, hand gloves and making rush or congestion”, he appealed.
Bhalla stressed upon the people to look into and take their responsibilities with regard to lessen the risks and chances of spreading coronavirus and take healthy benefit from the relaxation given by the government. They must wash their hands and sanitize them before going out, wear a face mask and plastic hand gloves, avoid making the crowd and keep a safe distance from others to ensure safety. He also advised the traders not to entertain those customers who do not take care of preventive measures. If people do not observe safety measure, the virus could be spread and the government will have no option but to enforce lockdown again, he concluded.
Former Minister meantime continued distributing Ration and other necessary items among needy and poor families of Gandhi Nagar Constituency on Wednesday. In this regard, he on Wednesday distributed food packets at Marble Market Trikuta Nagar .Necessary steps must be taken immediately to ensure that the people stranded inside their houses do not face any hardship. The government machinery and general public must cooperate with each other during this crucial period. Most importantly, the administration must ensure that people are not exploited and fleeced by shopkeepers by creating artificial scarcity of essential items. The government must handle hoarders strictly, Bhalla added.
Each one of us should contribute our bit towards fighting the coronavirus by just staying at home. We, as individuals, should understand the intensity and direness of this situation we are in. each one of us should contribute our bit towards fighting the coronavirus by just staying at home. We, as individuals, should understand the intensity and direness of this situation we are in,Bhalla added. We should keep on mind that unusual times need unusual efforts. In this hapless situation, the cooperation of people with the administration and the health authorities is a must. Residents should follow the government advisory on this. Though the curfew imposed by the state government as a precautionary measure is causing some inconvenience to people, people must extend their full support to the government, especially the Health Department, in its efforts to check the spread of Covid. These should not remain on papers only. In nutshell, joint efforts of public, administration and health authorities can help mitigate the effects of Covid-19 pandemic, maintained Bhalla.
State governments cannot merely shut down borders and leave poor, hapless people wandering on the streets. People who have lost their livelihood are naturally bound to make a move for their villages so that they don’t have to bear extra expenses in paying rents and maintaining a second home. A nationwide operation for the movement of people stuck on state borders is needed, followed by a quarantine process. Jammu and Kashmir has already put in place quarantine facilities at the Union Territory border. People travelling into J&K are allowed in only after they agree to being quarantined for 14 days. Such facilities should be put in place on all state borders. The government plan must also take community participation into account. In a lockdown, every individual is a pillar of strength to the other. Without floundering the principles of social distancing, it is important to find out ways in which people can help each other. While the absolute isolation of individuals might be a desired-out outcome of the social distancing it cannot happen at the risk of leaving the poorest and the most vulnerable of our society at the mercy of God or that of apathetic policemen only waiting to use brute force, Bhalla added.
