The ministry has allowed SII to export 50 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine Covishield to the COVAX…reports Asian Lite News
The Pune based vaccines manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII) has got the nod to export Covid vaccines under the COVAX programme, said a source on Monday.
The ministry has allowed SII to export 50 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine Covishield to the COVAX, an UN Global body.
COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organization that aims to accelerate the development and manufacture of Covid vaccines. Covax facility was created to ensure global equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines after the outbreak of Covid pandemic.
The first batch of the vaccines will be exported to Nepal, Tajikistan and Mozambique, official sources said. The SII will also export Covishield to Bangladesh under COVAX. The Serum Institute can begin the vaccine export from November 23.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had announced that India will be resuming export of vaccines under Vaccine Maitri in the fourth quarter starting from October. He had said that vaccine export will resume to fulfill the commitment of India towards COVAX in line with the motto ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’.
India stopped the Covid-19 vaccines in April this year after a severe surge in Covid case during the second wave to jab its own population. However, prior to the export ban, India had either sold or donated 66 million doses to nearly 100 countries. While announcing to resume the vaccine exports under Vaccine Maitri program, the Health Minister said that the surplus supply of vaccines will be used to fulfill the commitment towards the world for the collective fight against Covid-19.
While India has achieved 82 per cent vaccination coverage for the first dose, the second vaccine coverage remains under 60 per cent.
Swab tests to people at City Railway station, in Bengaluru (Photo Dhananjay Yadav_IANS)
Media reports are designed to give the impression that tragedy is the rule for Covid victims. As a consequence, fear of Covid-19 became corrosive and pervasive, writes Prof. Madhav Nalapat
This columnist and his wife are among those who had Covid-19 and—it would appear—recovered. One of the staff at Trivandrum came to our house the day before we ourselves did six weeks ago. She had developed a fever and tested positive. As did my wife in days and two other staff, while this columnist and another staffer (who had already had the disease a year back) was negative. The Manipal hospital in Udupi has been essential in assisting Karnataka’s Dakshin Kannada district to fight the disease.
From the day the first case appeared, Dr Sashikiran Umakanth was on the front lines of the battle against Covid-19. Through the long, painful months since Covid-19 arrived across the world as a consequence of the Chinese authorities (with a nod from the ever-obliging WHO) permitting international travel from and to Wuhan while restricting domestic flights, Dr Umakanth studied the trajectory of the disease in his efforts at protecting the lives of victims. When he was informed that my wife had Covid-19, he suggested that a subcutaneous ingestion of Regen-Cov2 be administered soonest to both myself and her. This is a cocktail of two antibodies designed to fight the coronavirus.
The well-regarded KIMS hospital in Trivandrum had the medication, and we went there immediately. Unlike in Manipal, where this medication is administered not just to positive cases but as a prophylactic to those at high risk of catching the infection, KIMS administered Regen-Cov2 only to positive cases. Not that there was long to wait. The next day, fever struck this columnist, and the subsequent RT-PCR test was positive. The doctors and nursing staff at KIMS administered the medication to me the same day as my results had reached.
My wife started improving soon after she had got the antibody cocktail, shedding her fever in a few days, although the absence of taste and smell lingered for weeks. As did occasional weakness in both of us. Fortunately for this columnist, his symptoms vanished within a short time, but although there was taste and smell, appetite remained truant for weeks. The staff who had tested positive together with my wife showed no symptoms at all. They had been fully vaccinated, as was the case with this columnist.
PM Narendra Modi visits Delhi hospital to mark India’s 100 Cr Covid vax milestone.
It was a surreal experience calling friends and informing them of the situation, only to hear gasps of shock followed by warnings of the terrible things that Covid-19 could do to the body. Cheery indeed to listen to such prognostications. After a bit over a week had passed, a new test was conducted and all four of us were negative. The many warnings and cautionary remarks that were received from well-meaning friends ensured some nights of sleep fitful and interrupted by worry about the trajectory that the coronavirus may take in our bodies. It was only after being found to no longer be Covid-19 carriers that my sleep improved.
We returned to Delhi by the direct Air India flight, and after a few days returned to Trivandrum. Having been informed of our possible fragility, the staff at the national carrier were incredibly helpful. Despite being ravaged by officials and politicians in past regimes, when its interests were trampled upon, and being neglected by many governments in succession, Air India still retains traces of what made it among the world’s finest airlines in the initial decades of its existence.
Bob Woodward of Watergate fame wrote a book about the Trump White House, calling it “Fear”. That was the emotion that, according to the book, President Donald Trump brought out in his interactions with others, including grandees of the Republican Party. From the start of the pandemic stage of SARS2, it was clear that this was a virus that killed very few, and which did not majorly compromise the health of most of its victims.
Yet there came a flood of media reports and official statements (exemplified by Dr Anthony Fauci) that portrayed Covid-19 as being an even deadlier version of AIDS, a virus that killed almost all its victims in the initial years of its spread in the 1980s. Covid-19 can indeed kill or incapacitate. Yet accounts about it fail to mention that such cases are the exception. Media reports are designed to give the impression that tragedy is the rule for victims. As a consequence, fear of Covid-19 became corrosive and pervasive. Such accounts ensured that long lines formed outside vaccination centres. The vaccines were put into use in record time for a disease that still remains unexplored territory in a substantial way.
Five of the six individuals in our Trivandrum household who caught the disease were fully vaccinated yet got Covid-19. Only the staffer who had suffered from it a year earlier escaped. Statistics indicate that vaccination is helpful, if not always in preventing the disease, in preventing the virus from running amok. There are stray cases of those who catch the virus a second time around, but mostly, those who have had Covid-19 seem unlikely to catch it again. There must be hundreds of millions in India who have caught a coronavirus that does not generate symptoms in most of its hosts, and as a consequence India may be well on the way to herd immunity.
Another factor is the 100 crore vaccinations that were carried out over the year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi acted correctly in declining to enforce another set of lockdowns in 2021 that would have shut down much of the economy once again. The PM resisted lockdown calls despite the ravages of the wave caused by the Delta variant (which the PRC promptly dubbed the “India virus” despite being allergic to the description of the Alpha variant as the “China virus”). 2021 has witnessed a jump both in the number of foreign vaccines being manufactured in India as well being developed within the country, Covaxin being the first indigenous vaccine to get the WHO nod.
Supply of oxygen to hospitals has been decentralised and deregulated, moving away from reliance on a few large units. 2021 is finally witnessing Minimum Government, Maximum Governance, as was promised by Narendra Modi during the 2014 Lok Sabha campaign. Treatment protocols for Covid-19 have improved, raising the proportion of those who recover even during the ICU stage. Eventually, it will be vaccines and pharmaceuticals from India that will rescue the world from the abyss into which Covid-19 seeks to consign it. So what needs to be said about the pandemic is what was said by Franklin Delano Roosevelt about the Great Depression in 1933, that “the only thing to fear is fear itself”.
ITC’s 2Q FY22 was ahead of estimates with EBITDA and PBT growing 13 per cent year-on-year (YoY)…reports Asian Lite News
Net cigarette revenue grew 10.3 per cent YoY as the recovery post the second Covid-19 wave has been rapid. Cigarette volumes were back to near pre-Covid levels towards the end of the quarter. Cigarette EBIT also grew 10.4 per cent YoY as margins were stable.
FMCG business had a very high base due the surge in packaged foods in 2Q FY21, and thus revenue growth was muted at 3 per cent YoY.
ITC 2Q FY22: Revenue growth of 13% YoY
EBITDA margin was maintained at 10 per cent despite high input cost inflation from edible oils and packaging material.
Hotels turned EBITDA positive while the paper and agri business also had good quarters with 24 per cent/16 per cent YoY EBIT growth, respectively.
Investor focus is expected to shift to the deliberations of the expert committee to build a roadmap for cigarette taxation.
“We continue to see positive risk reward. Maintain Outperform,” Credit Suisse said.
FMCG business maintains 10 per cent EBITDA margin despite high input cost inflation.
The two-year revenue CAGR over 2Q FY20 was, however, strong at over 10 per cent. The EBITDA margin was maintained at 10 per cent despite high input cost inflation from edible oils and packaging material.
Highlighting the fact that 46 districts are showing more than 10% positivity while another 53 districts are showing a positivity between 5%-10%, health secretary urged the States to ramp up their testing, reports Asian Lite News
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan chaired a high-level meeting on Saturday to review the COVID-19 situation in 10 states reporting a rise in new daily COVID cases or a rise in positivity.
The states are Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Manipur.
During the meeting, Bhushan underlined that all districts reporting a positivity rate of more than 10% in the last few weeks need to consider strict restrictions to prevent/curtail movement of people, formation of crowds and intermingling of people to prevent spread of infection.
It was forcefully underlined that any laxity at this stage will result in deterioration of the situation in these districts, the Union Health Ministry said in a statement.
He further noted that more than 80% active cases in these states are reported to be in home isolation. Hence, he said that there is need to effectively and strictly monitor these cases so that they are not intermingling and circulating in their neighborhoods, community, village, mohalla, ward etc. and spreading the infection.
The Ministry suggested that the people in home isolation should be effectively monitored in such a manner to ensure that those who require hospitalization are seamlessly transferred for timely clinical treatment.
Bhushan noted that states also need to focus on those districts where the positivity rate is less than 10%, so as to protect these districts and the populations by focusing on saturation of vaccination in these districts.
In the last two months, the Minister reiterated that the Union Government has been supporting States by providing oxygen concentrators, oxygen cylinders and PSA plants. In addition to this, States are using their own resources to put up PSA plants in government hospitals. States were advised to direct private hospitals to put up hospital-based PSA plants.
States have been advised earlier regarding this in the past two months. Provisions under the Clinical Establishment Act enable States to issue such directions to the private hospitals. For states which have already issued such directions, they were advised to review the status and facilitate the private hospitals further, he said.
The review meeting was also attended by Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research Balram Bhargava warned against any complacency with around 40,000 cases being reported daily since the preceding weeks.
New delhi COVID 19
Highlighting the fact that 46 districts are showing more than 10% positivity while another 53 districts are showing a positivity between 5%-10%, he urged the States to ramp up their testing. States have been advised to conduct their own state level sero-surveys for district-wise disease prevalence data, as the national level sero-prevalence survey was heterogeneous in nature, in collaboration with ICMR to ensure the same sturdy protocols of survey.
He advised the States to ramp up vaccination in the 60+ and 45-60 age categories as evidence shows nearly 80% of the mortality is from these vulnerable age-groups. Regarding enforcement measures, he advised the State authorities for avoiding all non-essential travel and to discourage all large gatherings of crowds.
Through a detailed presentation, a granular analysis of the highly affected districts (Districts of Concern) in these states, COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage, Status of Ventilators, PSA Plants, Oxygen Cylinders and Concentrators along with some key statistics was presented.
States were asked to use the INSACOG laboratory network for genomic surveillance to screen International Travelers (for the entry of new variants/mutants in India from other countries), monitor ongoing surveillance through Sentinel Sites (RT-PCR labs or secondary & tertiary care hospitals managing COVID cases) and surge surveillance.
During the meeting, states were advised to undertake intensive containment and active surveillance in clusters reporting higher cases, define containment zones, based on mapping of cases and contacts traced, undertake regular reviews and follow-up for implementation of ECRP-II with a focus on augmentation of existing health infrastructure particularly in rural areas and pediatric cases and report death count as per ICMR guidelines. (India News Network)
The maximum number of children who lost their parents to Covid are from Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh…reports Asian Lite News
The government on Thursday stated that a total of 645 children were orphaned due to the Covid-19 pandemic from April 2021 to May 28, 2021.
The maximum number of children who lost their parents to Covid are from Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, the government said in the Parliament.
In Uttar Pradesh, 158 children were orphaned, while in Andhra Pradesh 119 children lost their parents because of Covid-19. Maharashtra comes next where 83 children were orphaned, followed by Madhya Pradesh (73).
Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani, said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha that children in distress situations merit care and protection under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
The Act and Rules made thereunder mandate a safety net of service delivery structures along with institutional and non-institutional care for these children.
The ministry is implementing a Centrally sponsored scheme namely Child Protection Services (CPS) in partnership with the state governments and Union Territories for delivering institutional and non-institutional care as stipulated under the JJ Act.
“As per the scheme guidelines, maintenance grant of Rs 2,000 per child per month is available for non-institutional care of children in need of care and protection along with the provision of maintenance grant of Rs 2,160 per child per month for children living in child care institutions,” the minister said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the PM-CARES for Children scheme to support children who have lost both parents or surviving parent or legal guardian or adoptive parents due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The scheme provides support for education and health and will create a corpus of Rs 10 lakh for each child when he or she reaches 18 years of age.
This corpus will be used to give a monthly financial support or stipend to the orphaned children when the attain the age of 18 years for the next five years to take care of his or her personal requirements during the period of higher education, and on reaching the age of 23 years, he or she will get the corpus amount in a lump-sum for personal and professional use.
Currently, three COVID-19 vaccines are being used for inoculation in India….reports Asian Lite News
The center on Thursday reiterated that it is “actively pursuing” the enhancement of Covid-19 vaccine availability through imports and said that its current focus is on proposing domestic production towards its vaccination programme.
“Let me reiterate that our current focus continues to be on purposing domestic production towards India’s domestic vaccination programme,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said during a weekly media briefing.
“We are also actively pursuing the enhancement of vaccine availability through imports. This has helped increase the pace of vaccination in recent weeks,” Bagchi added.
It is hoped that individual countries would increasingly recognize made-in-India vaccines, he said.
Currently, three COVID-19 vaccines — Covaxin by Bharat Biotech, Covishield by Serum Institute of India (SII) and Russia’s Sputnik V — are being used for inoculation in India.
The total number of vaccine doses administered so far has reached 36.48 crore under the nationwide vaccination drive.
As regarding approval for Covaxin by the WHO, Bagchi said the government is continuing to monitor the progress and added, “I would refer you to Bharat Biotech for the exact status of where it stands.”
Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the CoWIN Global Conclave so that India’s indigenous e-portal for registration for vaccination can be recognized globally. Over 142 countries participated in the event and more than 50 of them are highly keen in using the platform.
Asked how many countries have shown interest in India’s technology platform for vaccination CoWin, Bagchi pointed out that a very important event, the CoWIN Global Conclave, was convened earlier this week and was addressed by the Prime Minister and other dignitaries.
“This was an opportunity to offer to the world our indigenously developed digital platform CoWin which is an open source and can be shared with all. More than 400 participants from over 140 partner countries participated,” the MEA spokesperson said, adding that discussions will continue with partner countries. (India News Network)
US, Israel and India unleashing their firepower and economic power has backfired, writes Taha Coburn-Kutay
I understand two languages in which world matters are defined — politics and economics. In the recent past, the US wanted to dominate China and started the trade war, fortunately, or unfortunately which it is losing, depending on which side of the prism you look.
Before that India took the step of abrogation of Article 370, obviously with the backing of the US. This nexus also includes Israel which has been the steering captain of the ship with the help of Jared Kushner. He is the key person in getting US, Israel, and India together.
Unleashing the firepower and economic power for all three countries has backfired. You will wonder how?
First, the failure of the US in bringing stability in South America has created chaos in Venezuela and Guyana. Venezuela is on the boil because the US wants to cripple its economy although Venezuela has new-found oil reserves greater than the Gulf.
Similarly, Guayana has new-found oil reserves which are also greater than of the Gulf. Now, you must wonder why did the US decide to pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan, obviously to focus their energies on Venezuela to destabilize it and take control of Guyana.
Exxon Mobil has already started drilling and pulling crude offshore Guyana. In the recent election, the socialist party lost creating havoc in Guyana and no stable government is in place. Although every citizen of Guyana is supposed to receive $5000 per annum as royalty for the new-found oil.
Now, you will wonder why is the same package not available to Venezuela because it’s under sanctions and cannot sell oil. The nexus behind Venezuela is Russia, China and Iran. If you look up the oil indices you will see that Venezuelan crude when mixed with Iran crude makes a very sweet mix, not in the literal terms but oil terms. If we start putting two and two together, my theory of politics and economics starts making sense. When tensions arose between Iran and Saudi Arabia, who was called to the table to defuse the situation, it was Pakistan. You will wonder why it was because Pakistan enjoys a healthy relationship with Saudi Arabia, China, Russia, and Iran.
Although the black sheep in this sequence is Saudi Arabia. The strategic importance of Pakistan for China, Russia, and Iran is of utmost importance. We are oblivious to this reason which is CPEC. This is the background to what I’m about to tell you.
We fast forward to the situation when Covid-19 started making the news in late 2019. It was at this time I had started to see the strategy which was going to be employed by China to change the geography of the region. I will substantiate this by a similar situation in the mid-eighties but with economic strength. At this time Pakistan was economically stronger than India and had the full backing of the US because of the Afghan war. On the other hand, India was weak and overcoming the death of Indira Gandhi. Pakistan taking advantage of the situation launched the operation in Kashmir to change the demography and geography of the region, which is still suffering. India’s foreign reserves were as low as a billion dollars and it couldn’t afford to fight Pakistan openly also knowing Pakistan had the backing of the US.
Fast forward to 2019 and the whole equation had changed. Pakistan was economically weak not even a billion dollars in reserves with no back of the US. Whereas India economically strong and had the backing of the US, abrogated article 370.
Modi-Biden
This is when China and Pakistan came to terms and to the table to strategize a situation whether knowing or unknowingly that this calamity of a pandemic is coming. In a matter of months, India has become economically weak and politically unstable, if you are following Indian politics closely.
China, on the other hand, has made more billionaires in the Covid-19 situation than in normal times. This is where China has struck and in my opinion, will not back down. India in the next two weeks will overtake the world in both Covid cases and deaths.
The government has no idea how to kick start the economy and this will lead to more political instability. China will increase the pressure and may open two more fronts in eastern India from the state of Arunachal Pradesh and on the western front to Gilgit, Baltistan. India doesn’t have the firepower or money to support this kind of an adventure, hence this might lead to the change on geography in this part of the world forever.
Oil fields
At this time do not forgot your beloved Saudi Arabia because it is hatching a plan with Israel and the US to start an adventure with Iran. Iran is facing a second wave of Covid and its worse than the first wave. This is giving further strength to Saudi Arabia to plan the adventure which may lead to geography being changed in the middle east but to the contrary of Saudi Arabia losing ground.
You all are seeing what is happening in the US although I cannot see a geographical or territorial change but there is an immense mind/psychological change coming in the US. This second time around I cannot see Trump win whereas the last time my prediction was spot on.
Israel is another day’s topic.
The world is going to see a lot of changes so we should all be prepared.
(Disclaimer: Opinion expressed within this article are the personal opinion of the author)
The passage of the resolution came just a day after the US Agency for International Development (USAID) announced $41 million more in assistance…reports Asian Lite News
The House of Representatives passed a resolution on Tuesday calling for urgently facilitating assistance to India to help it fight the second wave of Covid-19 epidemic.
The resolution, which is non-binding and expresses the sense of the House, was introduced by the Democratic and Republican co-chairs of the House India caucus and also expresses bipartisan solidarity with India.
“The resolution stands with the people of India as they collectively work to stem the spread of Covid-19,” said Congressman Brad Sherman, a Democrat. “The US must work with our partners around the world to quell the virus everywhere it persists.”
Steve Chabot, the Republican co-chair, said, “India’s Covid-19 second wave has caused immense suffering, both in India and among the Indian-American community many of whose members have family in India. Our close ties to India and India’s support for us early in the pandemic call for our support. As case rates continue to decline, we must help them finish the battle against the second wave and win the war against Covid-19 altogether.”
Modi-Biden
The resolution “recognises the efforts of the administration to deliver urgently needed medical supplies and vaccine raw materials to India; (and) urges the administration to facilitate private, in-kind medical supply donations to India and work to deliver additional, urgently needed medical supplies to India, including oxygen generator plants and a cryogenic oxygen tanker and containers.”
The passage of the resolution came just a day after the US Agency for International Development (USAID) announced $41 million more in assistance, taking up the total to $200 million, in addition to $500 million of supplies and relief.
While criticised for being slow to mobilise support for India, over the course of May, the U.S. had provided – as per official estimates – over $100 million in government assistance and a total of over $500 million in assistance including individual and private sector contributions. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also spoken with U.S. President Joe Biden as well as Vice President Kamala Harris on the assistance India needed and the U.S.’s plans to share its excess vaccines.
The assistance will support access to COVID-19 testing, pandemic-related mental health services, timely referrals to medical services, and access to healthcare…reports Asian Lite News
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) on Monday announced $41 million in support to help India respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen the country’s preparedness for COVID-19 and future health emergencies.
India came to the assistance of the United States during this country’s time of need, and now the United States stands with the people of India as they continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, said a USAID statement on Monday.
This assistance will support access to COVID-19 testing, pandemic-related mental health services, timely referrals to medical services, and access to healthcare in remote areas, it stated.
Through this additional funding, USAID will continue to partner with India to strengthen healthcare supply chains and electronic health information systems, support its vaccination efforts, and mobilize and coordinate private sector relief, the statement added.
Prior to the additional funding announced on Monday, USAID has contributed more than $200 million for India’s COVID-19 relief and response efforts since the pandemic began, it said further.
Today we announced over $40 million in additional @USAID COVID-19 support to #India. From sending emergency supplies to training hundreds of thousands of frontline health workers, we will keep supporting the Indian people in this fight. https://t.co/UMZrDo30XY
This announcement by US’s aid agency comes on the day when senior American lawmakers in the US House of Representatives urged the Biden administration to facilitate private, in-kind medical supply donations to India.
Lawmakers also called upon the US federal government to work to deliver additional, urgently needed medical supplies to India, including oxygen generator plants and a cryogenic oxygen tanker and containers.
The bipartisan resolution introduced by Congressmen Brad Sherman and Steve Chabot, co-chairs of the India Caucus, stands with the people of India as they collectively work to stem the spread of Covid-19 throughout the country.
Earlier this month, several US lawmakers had urged the Biden administration to ensure India receives more COVID-19 vaccine supplies and medical aid.
On June 21, the White House announced the allocation plan for 55 million of the 80 million doses of America’s own vaccine supply to the world that included 16 million for Asia that includes India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and others. (INN)
People from Budhimedhi village weren’t allowed to attend public gatherings or travel to mourn a relative’s death…writes Manoj Thakur.
When the second wave of Covid-19 was washing over many parts of the country, seven villages in Haryana’s Sirsa district remained untouched. Makha, Musli, Budhimedhi, Dhani Satnam Singh, Dogra Wali, Modi, and Joriya — which do not have more than 5,000 people each — followed basic practices and cooperated in their small way to keep the virus at bay.
For instance, not a single person from Makha village ventures out without a mask, whereas cops have been rampantly penalising people for violations elsewhere in the Sirsa district. Makha sarpanch Veerpala Kaur proudly says that innate discipline has completely stalled Covid-19 in their village. “There isn’t a single case in our village. It was possible because of adherence to three things – wearing a mask, attention towards sanitisation and social distancing. And the results are right in front of you,” she said
Kaur added that the panchayat held many dialogues with the villagers over prevention. “The panchayat meetings were conducted by following social distancing norms. We decided to stall weddings and other public gatherings,” she said.
The villagers’ sense of social responsibility made the implementation easier.
Rules and cooperation
Sarpanch Kaur’s brother, Harchej Singh (38), made brief clips on Covid-19 awareness and circulated them on social media. The villagers cooperated with the initiatives. They asked their relatives not to visit their village. “Moreover, the villagers refrained from travelling out. If a person had to leave for important work, he/she would quarantine himself/herself upon returning. The measures were not followed due to pressure from an individual, but out of respect for the decision taken for the public good,” he said.
He added that the villagers believe in keeping a social promise. They have high regard for the decisions taken by the panchayat, and thus, they follow them ardently — they feel it is their social responsibility. “Villagers come to know when a person violates the rule. Such a person is then socially boycotted and loses trust,” Singh said.
People from Budhimedhi village weren’t allowed to attend public gatherings or travel to mourn a relative’s death. In case they had to travel, they would have to quarantine upon returning. The doctors would test them. Such a person could only return home once he/she tested negative. Budhimedhi’s residents cooperated with every such regulation. “As a result, there has not been a single case,” said village sarpanch Sukhbaj Singh.
Musli village resident Singh Chima said that people were not visiting the mandi during the lockdown. Since many vegetables are grown in the village, the residents decided to distribute them among themselves. “There were two advantages to this situation — people did not have to step out for vegetables, and the home-grown produce was not spoiled. A few people from outside who come to sell vegetables did not arrive once they realised that we were self-sufficient,” he said.
Small hurdles to deal with
Making everybody follow the safety principles came with their difficulties. Sarpanch Kaur of Makha village said that the villagers are staunch followers of traditions and follow a strict schedule, which they do not like to disrupt. “Covid-19 had started altering people’s routines,” she said.
The sudden change has been unimaginable for Makha’ senior citizens like Ramnivas Sharma. Before Covid-19 confined him to his home, he would spend his day with his friends in baithaks. “People of my age would gather in the morning and engage in banter all day. Tea, snacks, and lunch would be served in our baithaks. We wouldn’t return home until late. With Covid-19, things changed drastically. We felt imprisoned in our homes. It was bizarre at first. But, we got slowly used to it,” he said.
Sharma added that staying at home had its benefits. “We, senior citizens, grew close to our kids as we spent lots of time with them for the first time. Now, time flies. It feels as if I have wasted a lot of time in the past in the company of hookah, when a better part of life is at home,” he said.
Sirach Sukhabaj Singh of Budhimedi Village from Sirsa deemed funerals the most difficult to regulate. In his village, when a person dies, people gather in support and solidarity. “Covid-19 did not allow any such gatherings. We reinforced the decision by allowing only the family to attend the final rights. When a person passed away, we wondered if the virus was responsible. The samples were sent to local government hospitals. The results always returned negative,” he said.
The good word
Sirsa Deputy Civil Surgeon Buddh Ram lauded the seven villages for their approach and discipline. “They stayed free of the virus when the pandemic was gathering momentum in rural areas. Their techniques can be seen as a model for preventing Covid-19,” he said.
Social organisation network Youth 4 Change’s director, Rakesh Dhul, said that such discipline is exemplary as it comes from the sector of Sirsa, which is protesting against the farm laws.
“These seven villages have shown much restraint and discipline and prevented Covid-19 altogether. If other villages adopt Sirsa’s methods, Covid-19 can be evicted from rural areas. Sirsa’s residents have not only prevented themselves from harm but have imparted a lesson,” he said.
(The author is Chandigarh-based freelance journalist and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.)
