The lockdown quandary

With reference to the article ‘Resolving the lockdown dilemma’ (April 13), during the US polls last year, Covid cases were peaking and casualties mounting yet Donald Trump, during his huge election rallies, neither wore a mask nor did he advocate others to wear one. Now leaders in our country have continued to parrot Covid protocols and yet have no compunctions in calling for mammoth rallies even as the nation touches record daily cases.

Lockdown fiats are issued by those who are assured of their next meal and bed but the common man is unfortunately left to fend for himself as he desperately trudges miles to his native home.

R Narayanan

Navi Mumbai

With surging Covid cases, the public, in general, is abstaining from complying with the protocols which eventually is posing a severe threat to lives and livelihoods.

Thanks to the recent reform measures economic activities are on a fast revival path. At this juncture, dynamism in activities is crucial to further reduce job losses as well as to balance the uneven movement of the labour force from rural to urban areas.

A complete lockdown as was done last year is detrimental to economic growth but at the same time, it is essential to implement drastic measures other than complete lockdown to arrest the spread of the pandemic.

To make available vaccination to all the unvaccinated population, the governments at the Centre and States must look for organising vaccination camps across the country. The local government and other government machinery are key players to contain the spread of the pandemic.

A sector and area-specific approach is paramount to keep the economic activities going on smoothly and governments must refrain from looking for a complete lockdown to avoid further devastation to the already ruined economy.

VSK Pillai

Changanacherry

Bending the curve

Apropos Editorial 'Bending the curve' (April 13), with a view to preventing the alarmingly increasing infections, a few States like Maharashtra and Telangana have gone for night curfew and weekend lockdowns. It is time that States took harsh and stringent steps. A total lockdown of a week (excepting essential services) is the need of the hour. States need to plan in handling the other impacts on other societal issues arising on account of total lockdown keeping in mind that the measures do not result in crowd gathering. Places like Cinema halls, malls, restaurants need to be closed down completely for a week or two with limited entry in temples.

Keeping aside the politics, the Centre also needs to pump in a large number of vaccines to the States having huge infected cases. Also, the Centre must plan to cover 100 per cent of the population (irrespective of the age) belonging to smaller states like Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura.

RV Baskaran

Chennai

Mamata’s defiance

TMC chief and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee sitting on a protest before the Gandhi Murti in Kolkata, clearly shows her opposition to the EC’s decision imposing a 24-hour ban on her electoral campaigning across the State. The poll regulator’s action has been termed as biased and unjustified by the TMC.

But one also wishes that she had taken the trouble of revisiting the actual contents of her recent electoral speeches apart from carrying out some honest self-introspection.

For sure, such an ideal thinking universally applies to one and all. Let West Bengal's voters take the final call as per their own wisdom and accordingly decide the fate of all those who are currently in the political fray.

Kumar Gupt

Panchkula (Haryana)

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