He had opportunity during the election campaign in Bengal and Assam to see unmasked faces of poor thronging through election rallies even when the lock down restrictions were operational. Even in second week of April last year, more than eight million have walked in large groups on their feet for days to transverse distances of 1500 miles with their children and without observing precautionary social distances. But here were no alarming signals of dire consequences. May be that may have prompted him to ignore the defiance of the lock down regulations by none other than the Aditya Nath Yogi, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh to arrange free bus passage for million walkers to destinations in eastern states. No evil impact of defiant bus travel had sent the alarm bells ringing.

Normally epidemics or pandemic in the past have left more devastating damage to lives of poor. But the corona virus pandemic seems to have affected more only middle class families in economically advanced states and especially in rich and thriving urban population areas than their rural folks. Intensity and spread of corona infection is measured in terms of reported suspicions by self and not through confirmation by or after medical examination. The argument advanced is that intensity and spread of the pandemic appears to be low only in appearance in rural areas as rural folks do not report. The practical experience from the past and after literacy rate above 83 per cent and 1100 million active mobile connections, it is difficult to believe that rural folks do not seek medical assistance in times of distress.

I recall incident of 1983 when Sam Pitroda reported to the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi the success of his assignment in terms of phone connection for each of 5.53 lakh village of India. He said, “Madam now any father in law of every young woman can summon with a phone call medical assistance when young is in labour pain." Indira Gandhi quipped, Sam, as you say old man can summon doctor. But medico cannot reach as every village is not connected with motor usable road. The road minister Nitin Gadkari has been claiming since 2019 that now every villages is connected. Villages are connected by road, phone and mobile phone services and literacy has ended their hesitation in communicating their hardships.

The surge in reported suspected infection cases in the second week April was mainly confined to large metros in the west and not in East. The Prime Minister and the home minster were campaigning in Bengal and Assam as normally did on safe era without stalking fears of the corona pandemics to make audiences cover in fear Number of infection suspects crossing daily three lakh but reluctance of NaMo to resort to another long spell of the lock down invited heavy criticism with media even calling him incompetent politician. Same media had criticized him for imposing the lock down in March 2020 as spread and low intensity did not warrant such drastic measure was then argument.

The media support to the harsh measure appears to have emerged from convenient one sided reading. More than three lakh reported their suspicions of the corona infection. In same time equal numbers also reported their full recovery within merely 24 hours without details of cure, medicine or details of processes that enabled recovery. It suggests that suspicions of infection on previous day were baseless or for different purpose. Media played up long queues of dead at crematorium, poor stranded in porticoes hospitals with more than two sharing oxygen from one and same cylinder. Media team had visited the government hospital for the first time to notice such scenes though they are routines. The hospitals have to meet so many political or bureaucratic recommendations every day they have no capacity left to accommodate poor patients.

The media team can have more terrifying experience in their mid-night visits to see attendants to patients are forced to spend their nights cramped up in spaces that are used during the day as car parking for visitors. As the store keeper of reserve emergency medicines retires for the day, he locks up the stores as he is responsible and accountable for stock. If emergency demands immediate need for medicine, the attending intern shouts from the entrance door the name of patient to attract his or her attendant to get emergency medicine from market.

Another played up issue is shortage of oxygen in hospitals. No one expected heavy demand for oxygen. The availability of oxygen at home for emergency needs also contributed to creating shortage in hospital. No one can blame the government for sudden shortage though its inability to anticipate is apparent. The health department adopted the method of making public without proper verification of messages on its recently launched website to report health issues. It also gave out number of deaths due to corona infection without other related details or investigating, the age, social and economical class or personal health problems of the claimed deaths due to corona infection. Though details slipped out that 93 per cent dead were old above 63 years, many suffered from other fatal debilities. Similar was situation in America and Europe with high rate of fatalities.

The Prime Minister is reluctant impose the same solution that he tried out in first phase. He may have realized the dangers involved in converting citizens to be cowards and stay inside their homes instead of being brave enough to fight even invisible tiny enemy. Without courage in citizens, no nation or people can survive. Only self centered and eager to live at any cost can want NaMo to follow again the route of the lock down.