Nepotism

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Lockdown failed altogether

 Social Concern by Malay Kumar

For the past few months, the entire world is suffering due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Different countries try to apply different guidelines to protect their countryman from Covid-19. But, their different approach reacts differently. They succeeded at times, at times failed. But they somehow managed to remain in line to tackle the novel coronavirus. India has done just about the same thing. They could survive at one point but they just collapsed completely in the past month.

There is a solid explanation that except China, no other COVID-19 affected country consists of the same population that India has. It's complicated for the Indian Government to monitor 1.3 billion people at a same time. But even lockdown created a problem for them in the past month. For the past few weeks, the Indian government permits its states to announce the lockdown as per their requirements. Therefore Indian states have decided to lock them down two days every week. This is where the main problem is created. People have forgotten that they have not yet been completely freed from the grip of Covid-19. 

Pictures of the days before and after the lockdown are normal, looks like nothing happened. Those days a huge crowd gathered at the street and market. Somewhere they are wearing masks, but somewhere there is no use of masks. Every store is open. In some places, there is no sign of social distancing. Even police are not there in every major place. At one stage everything was under control. Polices are there everywhere, but it seems like they have given up. 

Another strong reason is allowing some trains to bring back daily workers from other states. Well I know sounds look a little awkward but trust me I am not against it. I want all of them to come back home. But, this is not the right time to bring them home. Since the impact of the lockdown is not the same as before, these people had to be brought back in the first couple of phases of the lockdown. Because then the roads were empty. So there was no chance of the virus spreading. 

The coronavirus is currently growing at an incredible pace with the arrival of externals. At present we have nearly 37 lakhs confirmed cases (4.2 crore people tested as of 30 August), where nearly 28.5 lakhs have recovered successfully and nearly 66 thousand have expired. As per the reports, Maharashtra suffered the most with almost 8 lakhs confirmed cases. Therefore the entire situation demands that India's lockdown turns into a great tragedy. 

A Complete breakdown of Bengal

We have already passed half the time of 2020. But trust me except for the first few weeks we have not yet relief for a single day. Since then we all are Continuously fighting to stay alive. We did not understand that we have to fight for existence so early in our life. We all are so tired that we can not fight anymore, but you know when you start running on a track, quit is not an option. Either you will win it or lose it. The only difference is you can measure your running track before you start running and also you know how long you have to run but, here that option not even exist. 

At the moment we are going through a very tough time. I stay in the state of West Bengal and there is no end to the problems in my state. It all started with the outbreak of Novel Coronavirus, followed by Aamfan storm and many more. Due to this COVID-19 pandemic, our financial and health system completely broke down. Even our educational system getting hugely affected due to this as every school, college, and university remains closed for such a long time. Still, we don't know when we will get back to our normal life. The death toll also increases with it. 

Novel Coronavirus completely swallows this state even after our doctors continue the effort. As of now, we have 70,188 confirmed cases here in West Bengal where 48,374 recovered and the death toll reaches 1,581. Almost every single hospitals are full of COVID-19 patients. With the outbreak of coronavirus, we face another catastrophe called Amphan storm. The government of West Bengal reported a loss of $15.38 billion due to this extremely dangerous cyclone Aamfan. The cyclone left devastation in both the state's 24 Parganas, Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, East Midnapur districts, West Midnapur. Although as a recovery Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced Rs 1,000 crore as "advance assistance" for the Amphan-hit state. 

All in all, the condition of this state at the moment is very deplorable. I can't say for sure when we will get rid of it. I just hope that soon we can overcome this situation and everything will be the same again. But as of now please stay home, stay safe and maintain social distance. 

Mumbai fights Coronavirus

Social Concern by Malay Kumar

Every single person is wondering about the COVID-19 pandemic. The whole Mumbai City has become a battleground due to Novel Coronavirus. The number of Covid-19 positive patients are gradually increasing in every single hospital. Most people have a hard time accepting this lockdown at the beginning. So, it was a challenge for the police to make them understand the situation. Luckily they are not stepping out now. But, still, due to lack of awareness, few people only take protection like maintaining social distraction, using face mask just for fear of the police that makes police's job very difficult. 

Dharavi slum in Mumbai, considered to be one of Asia's largest slums with almost 700k population. During the lockdown period, coronavirus is likely to spread rapidly in this slum area. Maintaining social distinction is almost impossible here as there is likely any gap between two rooms. But still, Mumbai police fighting hard to keep them away from this virus. To reach every corner of Dharavi slums drone turning out to be very helpful for the Mumbai police. But even after so much effort, the slum was not saved from the Coronavirus. Today Dharavi reports 25 new cases therefore tally climb up to 2,068. But, the only good news is since the past few daysdays, Dharavi has not reported a single death due to Coronavirus, therefore the death toll of Asia's largest slum stays at 77 according to the BMC. 

In Mumbai, the total number of positive cases is 58,226 with approximately 27,000 recovered and 2,182 deceased. Also, Maharashtra remains the only state in the country where Covid-19 confirmed cases gone pass one lakh (1,07,958). Although the Mumbai police have said they can now control it, but the situation is almost out of hand. The vaccine alone can save their lives. There is one strong reason behind this virus spread, because of the company and factory shutdown, the workers have already begun moving towards their home. A few people also don't know their addresses, even they don't know how to reach there. The overall scenario indicates that the police in Mumbai have to overcome an uphill task to control the whole situation. 

Two private hospitals in Mumbai have been sealed after positive tests for the novel coronavirus by some of their medical staff including doctors and nurses. Plus, 3 other hospitals in India's financial capital Mumbai close their doors for the new patients because of concern about medical stuff and doctors. Although I named this blog as 'Mumbai fights Coronavirus' but I am not sure how much fights Mumbai able to produce, as the city is struggling in the fight against the novel coronavirus. So, please stay safe and spread awareness as much as you can to protect our nation. 

Freshness in the air

Social Concern by Malay Kumar

During this nationwide lockdown, not only we all are feeling bad but also hoping for its end. Honestly speaking I am also hoping for the same. Now we all are constantly fighting against the Novel Coronavirus by staying at our house. As there is no specific medicine for Covid-19 hence maintain social distancing remain the only solution of it. In this critical period, we all are not only thinking about how to get rid of it but also continuously blaming China for Coronavirus. In one way that is correct because there is plenty of problems that have been created due to this lockdown. 

In India, we are going to complete the fourth phase of lockdown at the moment (already started on 18th May). Although the fourth lockdown is completely different from the previous three, as India did not apply for a complete lockdown. That is why this lockdown will keep several shops open, public and private transport will be open but it will be following the guidelines of the government. But, the tragedy is COVID-19 positive cases are still increasing day by day. As of now, we have an overall 1,75,000 positive cases here in India out of which 83,000 recovered and the death toll stands at 5,000. Since we don't have any vaccine therefore this number will surely increase in the future.

China, the United States (USA), the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, Spain are some of the other countries which affected the most. On 24th March India announced for 21 days complete lockdown. It already extended thrice, 1st on 15 April followed by May 4 and now on May 18. The moment 1st lockdown began we realized that in the next few months, nothing good would happen. Am I correct? Most people answer yes. That's the right response, but 90%. We are all suffering from the virus issue in India at the moment, but we know this problem will be solved one day with the advent of medicine. But apart from this, our country has a permanent issue that is almost impossible to solve, and that is pollution. India has been plagued by this problem for many years.  

Since in the first three lockdowns both public and private transport was completely closed, air traffic down, all the factories closed, no shops were open and only a few are allowed now, therefore the pollution level is mostly under control. If we want to discuss the pollution, we should be surprised to hear that in 2019 India ranked 5th among the world's most polluted countries list with an avg of 58.8 Air Quality Index (AQI). In 2018 the AQI was even higher. Also, you will be very scared to know that not only Ghaziabad (AQI: 110.2) ranked no 1 but also twenty-one cities from India are on the list of the first thirty world's most polluted cities. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills nearly 6 million people globally each year. Also, air pollution alone kills almost 1.2 million people annually in India according to the World Economic Forum. A few weeks back USA Today claimed, the air in New Delhi is so toxic it can be seen from space. A street vendor just before the lockdown said: "sometimes I think I should pack my bags and leave Delhi for once and for all." For the last few years, Delhi is known as the world's most polluted country capital. 

But even if it is temporary for lockdown, this problem has been solved. Mumbai and Delhi have seen their pollution rates drop dramatically by 40-50% due to lockdown. India Today Data Intelligence Unit (DIU) researched AQI and noticed that no city in the country had poor air quality between the lockdown timeframe. Now you can take a deep breath as it is as fresh as ever. 

Current AQI for some major cities in India -  Guwahati (30), Mumbai (40), Bangalore (54), Kolkata (63), Kerala (63), Chandigarh (64), Hyderabad (66), Chennai (70), Pune (73), Rajasthan (81), Delhi (81), Ahmedabad (113)

Others Blog :

 The outbreaks of Novel Coronavirus

 How online shopping kills local stores

How online shopping kill local stores?

Social Concern by Malay Kumar

In today's world, we are upgrading ourselves every single day. From local shops to shopping malls, then shopping malls to the branded showroom and in now these days we don't have enough time to go to the market and purchase. Because we all are too busy to manage time for us. Thus, in these present times, we are doing what exactly others are doing.

Now the question is how online shopping business-killing local small businesses. The answer is yes. This present-day around 71% of internet users are preferring online shopping in our country and no doubt that this number will increase in the future. Surprisingly, men have more online shoppers than girls in India. Because people are concentrating online shopping, not because of time but the price also. In today's world, people want more good products at less price. For all of us, time and price both are vital and if we get both at the same place then it is an obvious thing that we will purchase our products from an online shopping site not from a local shop. Now in these days, the online shopping rate is increasing tremendously. I am also a part of it, as I like to save time as well as price also.

As online shopping has become very easy these days, that's why most people prefer it over retail shops. Let's discuss what people think before they make an order through online sites. 

a) Firstly, everyone thinks the price first, as it is crucial for all. Normally people get a huge discount on almost every product. Also, sometimes they receive additional cashback as per the offer.

b) Secondly, people think about time. To go to the market and shop takes so much time. As proper time management is a common challenge in our life, so we all think about how it can be saved. If we purchase through an online shopping site we can save our time easily.

c) To make our shopping easy and hassle-free those sites are also upgrading day by day. We get so many options regarding payment during the order as if we want to pay through cash or card both options are available there. Plus E-commerce apps make things easy for us.

Also, these days people get the facility of monthly installment on selected products. But, these options are not available in our retail shops. Also, those e-commerce apps are giving good customer service including quick return-refund policy, replacement policy, etc. Besides, in online shopping people can see a thousand of products before they decide which products they should choose before making an order. These options are not available in offline stores.

But, that does not mean that we don't need local stores anymore. We have good value for both. But, in this modern age as people love to upgrade themselves, therefore, they are focusing online shopping more than the shops, it's kind of a 60 - 40. Please mention in the comment section what you choose between these two? 

Lockdown 3.0

Social Concern by Malay Kumar

Most probably everyone started this year by saying goodbye to 2019 and offering a warm welcome to 2020 just like other regular years. As usual, this year's first day was also spent with much joy gathering friends, family, and so on. 2020 was important for everyone for their reasons. This year may be a turning point for certain people for their studies, jobs, or even for their lives. Those people started with their vision this year. Though the first few days were completely normal, it did not take too much time to change the situation for the whole world. 

It was Thursday, 30th January 2020, and the state was Kerala. Where a man was sick and as a result of this he was tested positive for COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus). Many of this country's population were completely unaware of this virus where some of them didn't even get the name here. But, it is a fact that on that day, the most dangerous virus entered India. The number of days the Indians have spent till now after that incident is not natural. Slowly this virus starts to spread among the population, with more population being infected by the rise in Coronavirus. And now it has become a major headache for the country. 

At first, 5 to 10 people a day were affected, then this number rapidly increased. Nearly 500 reported positive cases of Coronavirus found in India within a very short period, out of which 450 are active cases. As a result of this, India observed a 14-hour "Janata Curfew" under our honorable prime minister Narendra Modi on 22nd March 2020. Two days later the government of India announced nationwide lockdown for the next 21 days to protect the country from Novel Coronavirus, affecting the entire 130 crore population of India. 

We are in the most difficult period of our life, where everything is under restrictions. During this complete lockdown schools, colleges, offices, bus, train, flight ✈, cinema halls, temples, shopping malls, even local stores remain closed excluding raw vegetable shops. Only emergency services like the health department including medical stores remain open. People can understand it will affect our economy heavily but we don't have any other options but to stay at home and keep avoid public gathering. As there is no particular medicine for COVID-19, therefore social distancing considers only remedy for this. 

To make sure that people get enough food in this crisis period, both state and the central government already announce the ration package for the economically weaker section. In addition to this, govt already spent a huge amount of money on making the quarantine center. Plus all Doctors, nurses, and other medical staff are continuously fighting to protect people from Coronavirus. But despite all the efforts, the government could not stop Coronavirus from spreading. Prime Minister Narendra Modi then agreed to extend another 19 days of nationwide lockdown.

In the next few days, we will be completing 40 days of long lockdown but still more than 34,800 confirmed cases already identified in our country, of which nearly 24,600 are active cases, where we have lost more than 1,150 people due to COVID-19. That's because of almost 1700-1800 people are getting affected every single day nowadays. This extended nationwide lockdown, as per the order of the Indian government, is effective until 3rd May. Still, our most complicated condition demands that this lockout is extended once again. We all hope the GOI (Government of India) will once again take the right step to stop the virus and hopefully, we can see one more lockdown as a "Lockdown 3.0."