oppn parties West Bengal: Sitting On A Covid Bomb?

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West Bengal: Sitting On A Covid Bomb?

By Linus Garg
First publised on 2021-04-26 04:16:59

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.

The perils of holding an eight-phase election in the midst of a second wave of coronavirus and complete administrative apathy, especially in Kolkata, the largest urban conglomeration in the state, has meant that West Bengal now stares at a positivity rate which is the highest in the country. A report in the Times of India quotes figures from Covid testing labs in Kolkata to show that the positivity rate in the city is as high as 55% while in West Bengal, it hovers around 26%. The report said that out of 55060 samples tested in West Bengal on April 23, 14281 persons, or 25.9% tested positive.

These are alarming figures. As per experts, these are very low figures due to the low testing being conducted in the state because of the election process. The actual figures, if testing was done at earlier rate, would be much higher. This is cause for huge concern.

The EC, despite several requests from Mamata Banerjee , refused to club the last three phases to reduce exposure and release government staff from poll duty to take up health related work. Also, all parties decided not to hold super spreader rallies too late in the day when most of the damage was already done.

Then, despite it being known from mid-February that a second wave was hitting India nothing was done to enforce Covid rules strictly. All public places in Kolkata still allowed entry of visitors without any screening. No random tests were conducted at busy marketplaces. Periodic drives to enforce the mask rule that were conducted were not enough. People were allowed in public transport without masks. Mamata Banerjee rightly blamed the EC and PM Modi for spreading coronavirus in Bengal. But her administration has to share a lion’s portion of the blame for not enforcing the rules.

It is going to be very difficult for new government to tackle the surge in cases that are going to be reported after the elections are over and testing resumes in real earnest. Mamata Banerjee has already said that she does not believe in local or weekend lockdowns. If she returns as chief minister, she will have to start the process of micro containment zones to curb the spread and see that people follow Covid protocols strictly. There is no other way, apart from lockdown, to slow or stop the spread. 

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