How to overcome the stigma attached to Corona?

Corona pandemic has brought the whole world to stand still with countries across globe in lockdown mode, in order to contain the spread of virus and also to reduce the rate of fatalities. But while executing lockdown and forcing people to adhere the norm, governments failed to impart proper education to the masses about corona and few things attached to it, as a result of people developed their own theories which has now become stigma attached to covid patients and for the people treating them. I would call it failure of communication machinery while focusing only on one aspect ie controlling the spread of the disease but ignoring the aspect of educating people about the disease too.

This stigmatic situation has lead to lot of problems, like doctors and nurses treating covid patients were not welcomed back to their houses, some nurses were even forced to vacate their accommodation. But government agencies and few Samaritans came to the rescue of health workers and offered them shelter and food. Now government has collaborated with hotels and lodges for the accommodation along with food for health workers. Doctors and nurses can stay here peacefully without any threat to their lives.

Due to the humiliation of covid 19, people are reluctant to come forward to testing or share their contact tracking details with health official because they fear for the well-being of the members, they have come in contact with and this is posing as a big challenge for the agencies.

A doctor, who died in line of duty while treating Covid patients in Chennai, was denied burial in his locality and he was buried at far off place mush against his last wish. Now this doctor’s wife has appealed to the state government as well as the Supreme Court to honor the last wish of her deceased husband. Even crematoriums are refusing to cremate dead bodies of covid patients, another challenge for authorities.

Even people who have defeated Covid and are back home, their neighbors or society members are still reluctant to talk or keep any kind of contact with them, as if they don’t exist for them. This is also posing as a challenge for the authorities.

It is now that the government has realized about the challenges faced by them due to the stigma attached to covid and its lack of awareness among masses, coupled with lot of other issues which may crop up over time. Officials have now decided to address this issue on priority to stop the growth of covid stigma along with disease.

Recently a high rise apartment in Mumbai shed off the stigma of covid patient and welcomed a covid recovered patient back to their society amidst clapping and even shared the video on social media. While doing so, the norm of physical distancing was adhered to, as precaution is better than cure.

Now with plasma therapy in place, I think more people will shed their inhibition towards covid recovered patients as people will need the blood of cured patients to beat the disease which can bring some respite to people fighting the disease. Even the survival stories of cured patients will be inspirational for all those who are fighting with the disease in hospitals.

Corona patients have already suffered a lot because of the disease now they want our love and compassion, so let’s give it to them in abundance. So together let’s just shed out the stigma attached to covid and spread love and harmony in these testing times.

Life in rural and urban India during lockdown

People usually want to live in big cities where they have easy access to amenities through which they can lead a comfortable life, in comparison to villages where life is still lagging behind when compared to cities. But lockdown has reversed the thought of people residing in urban area towards rural parts of the country, wondering HOW? Let me tell brief it through few pointers

Living space

I live in my modest apartment in Bangalore and my only connect to outside world is through my balcony, every day I spend an hour in evening sitting there to experience nature.

My parents back in Kerala can walk around the house or the road just in front of house and can enjoy nature to the fullest. They have more access to greenery and fresh air than me, I so wish at times that I could be with them during lockdown.

Stepping out of home

Since Big Basket ditched me, I have to step out of my house once in a week to stock up veggies for the week, in order to follow the norms of lockdown and stop the spread of virus.

My parents haven’t stepped out of their house to buy veggies as they have grown some in our house and rest are given to them by their neighbors, which are also home grown. They have access to organic veggies which I don’t have and I have less option for veggies too here in Bangalore.

Spread of Virus

Cases are increasing in cities due population congestion, as people stay in close proximity with each other which increases the chances of spreading the virus.

Cases are declining in rural India and in places, life has returned to normalcy in comparison to their counterparts in urban India.  Pathanamthitta was one of the worst affected districts during corona outbreak in Kerala, has now returned to normalcy. Pathanamthitta graduated from red zone to orange zone and is slowly progressing towards green zone.

Containment Zones

Containment zones are places, where people have been detected by Covid 19 and their localities have been sealed to control the spread of virus

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Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Bhopal are few of the cities where containment zones have been created and more cities are joining this list with each passing week.

I doubt anyone of us have heard about containment zones in rural areas, I hope it continues that way.

Jobs stability

None of us can predict what awaits us after lockdown is lifted but few people in cities might lose their job or have to undergo pay cut.

In villages many people are self-employed so chances of them loosing job is very fragile.

When lockdown was announced people rushed to their home towns rather from hometown to cities that itself tells the tale.

Dissimilarities between Bigg Boss and Lockdown

Most of us are an avid fan of the reality show Bigg Boss, where few people stay in a luxurious house for over 90 days and do certain tasks ordered by Bigg Boss to entertain the audience. During their stay in house, these celebs are cut off from the rest of the world and have to do all household chores by themselves. Weekly elimination is conducted based on the performance of the participants and only one person emerges as the winner of the show. Since lockdown was announced many people considered it to be similar to the reality show but there are lots of dissimilarity between the two like.

Housemates

In Bigg Boss contestants share the house will people who are complete strangers to us and have no clue about their personality or habits. It leads to adjustment issues and fights which sometime blow out of proportion.

In lockdown we are in our houses with our family members whom we know well which enhance out comfort level and reduce chances of fights.

Connectivity with outside world

In Bigg Boss house participants don’t have access to mobile phone, TV or newspaper, so they aren’t aware about happening of outside world.

In lockdown we have access to mobile phone, TV and newspaper which keeps us updated about the happenings of the pandemic globally as well with our family and friends.

In-house supply of essential commodities

All essential commodities like groceries, veggies, fruits required by the inmates for a week is provided by Bigg Boss free of cost in Bigg Boss house.

During lockdown people can either rely on online delivery or step out to nearest grocery shops to buy essential commodities and YES they have to pay for these purchases.

24*7 under camera

Bigg Boss house have numerous cameras which captures all activities of house members during their stay in that house, even when they are sleeping.

I doubt anyone of us would have installed CCTV to cover all activities being conducted in our house, if so, bedroom will be spared for sure.

Get paid

All inmates of Bigg Boss house are paid a fixed amount to for their presence in the house.

During lockdown we are not being paid anything additional other than salaries credited by the employer of salaried class.  Businessmen and freelancers are surviving on their saving as the economy has come to standstill now.

So be cautious next time, when you compare lockdown to stay in Bigg Boss house.

Challenges of Migrant workers

From the moment lockdown has been announced in India, migrant workers are one who have been most affected by it. Initially nation wasn’t aware of their plight but when news channels featured their stories, we came to know about their challenges which were not only nerve gripping but emotionally draining too. Thousands of laborers took to the roads to march to their hometowns, which were hundreds of kilometers away, as they didn’t had money and food to survive through the lockdown period. For them death was inevitable either by Covid or by starvation, hence the exodus of migrant workers began.

Taking stock of situation government agencies flung into action to provide both food and shelter to migrant workers, NGOs across India too came out in support of migrant workers to provide them with meals. Joined efforts of both government and NGOs yielded result and exodus of migrant workers stopped. But after the extension of lockdown, things took ugly turn when migrant workers took to the roads in Mumbai, Gujarat and other parts of the country. Migrant workers are being criticized widely in social media for their act but let’s take moment to understand the reason of their act and then reach to any conclusion.

Food

Without food and water neither human beings nor animals will survive for long, that’s one of the concerns of migrant workers as they aren’t sure of whether they will get their next meal or not? Migrant workers are being fed with two meals a day, one in afternoon then at night, that too with no assurance when it will stop. There are times when some of them retire to bed empty stomach too.

If migrant workers are assured of seamless supply of food and water all throughout the lockdown period, things will be better for them as their major concern for survival will come to an end.

Wages

Most migrant workers are paid wages on daily basis, i.e. they get money only for the days they are at work and not for non-working days. Now with lockdown in place migrant workers are not sure, will they be paid wages or not? Most of them have run out of their savings now, while others don’t even have single penny with them. With no surety about wages or revival of work, workers are worried about their livelihood and of their family members who are dependent on them for monetary support.

If clear guidelines are passed to the migrant workers about what lies ahead for them after the lockdown, focusing mainly on their wages and chances of employment, anxiety of workers will be reduced considerably.

Shelter

With lockdown in place, many migrant workers have taken refuge in under construction buildings or in make shift arrangement done by their employers. But all these places lack electricity, sanitation and hygiene which irritates the laborers more and they do the unexpected by getting on to the roads.   

If migrant workers are provided better living conditions, then they might stay back at their place.

This is the time when we should try to spread harmony among masses and not hatred, migrant workers also form a part of it. So let’s all of us join our hands together to comfort the plight of migrant workers to make them feel more safe and secure in which ever city they are.

My first visit to Supermarket during lockdown

Before PAN India lockdown I bought most of the groceries to sustain for a month barring few things, which I thought could be purchased later on as usual. So now during lockdown I am having a smooth sail and with a veggie shop close to my place, I don’t have to think much about them either along with milk.

But there are few things which I can’t get at the shops near my house, which made it important for me to visit the nearest supermarket close to my place.  I ran out of sauces, spices, coffee powder and few other item kitchen items. With no other option in hand I decided to visit the supermarket, for a change ditched my vehicle and went on foot, it will suffice for my cardio too.

Towards the entrance of the supermarket, there were few people standing in queue, all following the norms of physical distancing. All of them were in their face mask and gloves, for a moment all seemed like surgeons barring their white aprons. Staff at supermarket allowed very few people to go inside and do the purchases at a time. I think it’s due to crisis situation now that people were quick with their purchases and were out of the facility.

Before my entry to the store, I was asked to sanitize my hand and get in, for a moment I couldn’t believe I was in a supermarket. My last visit to supermarket was a day before the lockdown, very long period for a person like me, who frequents supermarket often, once a week is mandatory.

Most things had run out of stock at the store, like Maggi, frozen peas, ice cream, butter, brown bread and sauces, I think production and distribution issue. For a moment I thought my visit to the place had gone vain, till I found 250ml bottles of sauces, it was great relief for me. I picked one bottle each of chilli and tomata sauce, along with some biscuits, spices and curd. I didn’t find soya sauce, Maggie and brown bread, was little disappointed but in this situation can’t complain about it.

At the billing counter, I witnessed few people have stacked their trollies with things as if the store won’t open the next day, panic buying. I think I was the only person to buy bare minimum things actually required by me currently.  After clearing the bill, I exited the facility to walk back home to be in quarantine again. All throughout my entry and exit to the store, I maintain physical distancing and didn’t even talk to anyone at store, except staff for some guidance.

This visit to the supermarket will always be memorable to me, it was one of most unique experience of my life so far which I don’t want to counter again. Second thing was all customers treated fellow human beings as aliens which were weird but necessary during lockdown.

Innovative home quarantined ways adopted by my parents in hometown

PAN India lockdown has brought lot of changes in the lives of people, as all of us are trying innovative ways to keep up engaged than just lying on bed. No one can lie on bed for long time especially when people have led a busy life, parents are worst effected during this lockdown. Firstly they are concerned about their children who are in far off places and secondly they want to spend time productively than just being tuned to TV.

Due to lockdown my parents are unable to go out frequently as they used to go before, thanks to the imposition of travel restriction.  But my neighborhood is very helpful towards my parents, as a result of which I am able to spend my days peacefully here in Bangalore. My neighbors buy veggies, medicines or any other thing needed by my parents, a good neighborhood is always a boon.

This is the season for jackfruits in Kerala and with lockdown in place, people who have jackfruit trees are sharing the seasonal produce with their neighbors. My parents often get jackfruit from our neighbors but due to non-availability of fish they don’t prepare the traditional jackfruit recipe of the state. Even they can’t finish these jackfruits by themselves in one go and it can’t be preserved for long due to its perishable nature.

Then my parents decided to make jackfruit chips, as it has long shelf life if preserved properly and it consumes good amount of time to make it and it will keep them busy for a long time, especially during afternoon times. Most difficult part in the entire process is first to de seeding the fruit and then slicing them down uniformly. My dad is an expert in the entire, he doesn’t need anyone’s help, if required he can perform the task all by himself. But mom and I pitch in the de seeding process and the slowest amongst us in me, as I rarely do it and not used to the process but enjoy relishing upon the recipes.

These days whenever I call them they are usually busy preparing jackfruit chips and it serves as their evening snacks for tea, so they don’t buy snacks from shops now. My parents are the not the only one to make these chips but most elderly people in our neighborhood is doing the same now, few who have banana plantation are making banana chips too.

I am really happy for my parents and the neighborhood for the innovative way adopted by them to make jackfruit or banana chips at home during their quarantined period. Skills mastered by them during their youth days have come to their rescue at these testing times and important aspect of it is that, they are indoors most of the time, which is a great sigh of relief for me.

I have requested my parents to pack the chips safely for me till I meet them next as I love jackfruit chips, my all-time favorite snacks. I hope till the end of quarantine period they make good amount of chips for me and my friends.

Challenging times during lock-down

To fight the pandemic of Corona virus, 21 days nationwide lockdown was announced in India, it was the need of the hour to control the situation and to reduce the rate of fatalities. Challenging one but with no other option people decided to abide by the norm for safety of oneself and their loved ones, whether close or far away.

But there are few instances when people are in challenging situations to take calls owing to emergency situation in family, like someone’s demise or someone breathing his/her last breath. Everyone wants to pay final rites to the departed soul or see their loved ones before final adieu.

One of my mom’s friend’s brother expired in Kerala two days ago, after being bed ridden for long time. His only son (Rohan) is in Gujarat and my mom’s friend is in Uttar Pradesh with her family. Rohan tried to get pass to reach Kerala to perform final rites of his father, as a result of which dead body was shifted to mortuary.

Yesterday, when I called my mom to check, whether Rohan was able to reach Kerala or not?  My mom informed that Rohan has decided not attend his father’s funeral as there are lot of challenges in his path like, he has to travel through 3 states to Kerala and in current situation, he will put in home quarantine for 14 days mandatorily, only then he can perform the final rites and all this while his dad’s body will be in morgue.

Taking stock of these situations Rohan took the most unthinkable decision one can imagine of including me, which was to cremate his dad at the earliest without his physical presence there. He has entrusted this responsibility to his family members back in home town to ensure things go smoothly with just one request, ie to connect with him during video call in order to witness cremation proceedings.

I have no words to describe his act of bravery, well thought about decision but extremely difficult to execute it, at least I don’t have the endurance to do something like this and I hope am not in a situation like this either.

This is another side of lockdown where people are being forced to take emotionally dreadful decisions, I can just pray to the almighty to give courage to such people to sail through such testing times and together we defeat Corona.

Let’s not forget NGOs warriors

Lockdown in India has affected the lives of many people adversely, worst are the daily wagers, who earn and eat on daily basis. Now with no job and money in hand they are forced to fight a battle against starvation too along with corona.  Many people weren’t aware about their plight until NDTV brought their stories before the nation.

Nation was so moved by the plight of these people, who were forced to be without food that both government and NGOs thronged in to action to ensure, no one goes to bed without food.  Many NGOs took up the responsibility to provide food the needy abiding by the norms of the administration.

There were challenges before the NGOs before they could venture out to support the needy people, first of course was funds, then grocery, data of people, resources for both delivery as well as for cooking. Funds were collected through facebook postings and WhatsApp share, since all payments were digital. it was directly credited to the account of NGOs.

Once funds were arranged NGOs were able to procure grocery easily but the biggest challenge for them was to find helping hands to prepare food, pack food and deliver them to the needy people. When the cause is to serve manhood, there’s nothing stopping you, same was the case with NGOs too, since most people were at home with no worthy activities to get involved in, they extended their support to these NGOs.

Once the food was read NGOs had another challenge waiting for them, which was to identify areas where people are stranded without food and non-restrictive movement of their vehicles within city. Since people had pooled in to support NGOs in their cause, they took up this responsibility too, so that food is prepared on priority without thinking about delivery and areas to be delivered.

With the support of masses NGOs got details of people struck at various places across city and NGOs also procured passes for their vehicles to move freely within city limits. With all such details in hand, NGO workers and volunteers ventured into roads to feed food to the needy people. 

During their distribution process they came across people stranded at both railway and bus stations with no support from anyone. For them volunteers from these NGOs were no less than messengers from god, some even that felt their prayers have been answered.

People who went to distribute food to these people on the first day, were so moved by witnessing the difficulty of these under privileged people, that they decided to be available for these people on daily basis till the lockdown period. It really take lot of courage to do that because these volunteers are at very high risk of getting infected by the Covid 19, as they come in contact with lot of people on daily basis and  travel extensively to feed the needy.

Though NGOs are doing their best but I can’t there mention in media or any other channels, which saddens my heart, hence I decided to do my bit by writing about them.

Great work to all NGOs across and their staff for working for serving mankind as always, keep up the good work.

Should cops resort to caning or innovative ideas?

Ever since lockdown has been announced in India, cops have taken over roads of the country to maintain law and order along with physical distancing. But within 2 days news about cops high handedness of became headlines of all leading news channels, newspaper and in social media platform like Twitter, where people vented their anger, tagging all top officials of police department along with PMO and Chief Ministers of respective states. 

Within no time this news spread like fire in jungle, to add fuel to the fire were some of the videos where cops could be seen caning and abusing people were made viral on whatsapp, which made the matter worse. Taking advantage of the situation, people created numerous videos on various applications and shared them through facebook and whatsapp.

There were instances of casualties also due to caning in some parts of the country, as a result of which few cops were suspended and departmental inquiry was initiated against them. If proved guilty, cops may be punished too, as these acts leads to violation of human rights too.

Taking stock of these situations DCPs of few states flung into action and issued orders to the force, not to hit people. Now cops on road were in a dilemma, to figure out innovate ways to keep people thronging road unnecessarily without using sticks.

In Chennai, cops used corona virus structured helmet to scare people away from road and it worked for them, it was applauded by people too. This was very innovate thought by Chennai police to scare people through virus replica, as till date people have seen the virus only in mages not in structural form.

In Kerala, after the initial caning now cops make people to do sit ups, if they are found wandering in the city without valid reasons. When I watched the sit up video recently, it took me back to my school days. I am happy that there is no violence and cops have decided mellow down their anger on masses to handle situation calmly.

Bengaluru police commissioner asked this staff to talk politely with people when on road and not to resort to violence of any kind. He is addressing press on daily basis and taking all preventive measures to avoid any outcry among masses and they cooperate with the administration during these time.

I am happy that now there is no violence on roads now else situation could have gone out of control for the government to manage and the entire purpose of lockdown would have failed drastically.  But thanks to the timely intervention of top brass of police officials they not only managed the situation but also instilled the faith of people in police department once again.

I am against all those people who venture out of their homes unreasonably just to risk their life along with their family members. Action should be taken against them but in a way where they understand their mistake and is ashamed of their deeds, just the way kids are taught in schools.