Dear Dr Pramod Sawant,
A couple of days ago, a migrant labourer was standing in line for groceries at the shop, in the sun for 40 minutes, Rs. 70 in hand. He was able to buy some rice with the money and the look on his face was very sad when he enquired about the price of pulses – Rs. 250/kg. As his friend passed by, he remarked that he could only afford to buy rice, to which his friend replied in Hindi, “boil the rice and eat it with salt, like all of us are.”
You, Sir, were hard-bent on going ahead with the Zila Parishad elections just last week and with the Shigmo festivities before that, knowing that the world was slowly shutting down. While you and your party could have utilized this time to prepare for the emergency on the horizon, your party members roamed the streets campaigning, several times a day.
A few days later, you extended the nationwide curfew by the PM and ordered a 100% lockdown across the state for 3 days on the day of the nationwide lockdown itself – completely unprepared. You promised that there wouldn’t be any shortage of essentials, and many people, believing you, bought food for 3 days. At 5 PM on Day 2, the lockdown was extended for 21 days – naturally, shops were closed and people began to panic.
Then began the limbo you put all Goans in.
“Shops will be open from 6 AM to 11 AM”
“Oh wait – no they won’t”
“You can step out only for essentials”
“Oh wait – we have police to beat you up if you do.”
“Petrol Pumps to remain closed so people will be forced to walk to stores”
“Never mind, scrap that idea.”
“Zomato and Swiggy will now deliver groceries.”
“Nope – they’ll only deliver cooked food.” (where do restaurants get supplies from to cook with, no one knows!)
It is Day 9 today and I cannot even explain how bad the situation is on the ground.
Goa was one of the first states to go under lockdown and I think all of us will agree with the necessity of it. You planned to give volunteer passes to a few people in each Panchayat to deliver groceries, which again was a good step – but the truth of it is that so far, it is still a theory.
Nobody got any volunteer passes and the scale and efficiency at which groceries are being delivered are deplorable. I also fail to understand why our groceries include nothing more than rice, dal, oil, tea, and sugar – while everywhere else in the country, Indians have no issues in getting vegetables, milk and eggs too. Make no mistake, we’re not asking for lobster and caviar – but when we had vegetables rotting at our borders at the time, was it very difficult to find a safe way to transport them to our neighbourhood stores?
The day before yesterday, you decided to close petrol pumps for the general public without any warning. How does anyone handle an emergency in Goa – medical or otherwise, without a vehicle when there is no lockdown, let alone when there is! You say you want to refrain people from driving a vehicle to buy groceries. You have stationed police to actually beat up people and impound vehicles going to grocery stores. Is every Goan supposed to keep walking to a few stores and come back empty-handed after finding shops shut, four times a day, in the scorching heat?
How does this tie in with your objective of keeping people indoors? By keeping a few shops open for a couple of hours a day, could you explain how you imagine people will stay indoors and not rush to stores for groceries all at once – paying no heed to social distancing when there is no certainty that the store will be open and have groceries tomorrow?
You have ordered CRPF personnel to be stationed across the state and have given them free hand to control the situation. Do you really think that beating your own citizens and foreigners with state-sponsored paramilitary is going to “solve” the situation? Or do you expect hungry people to sit in their houses and wait for your hand of providence – if and when it arrives?
Yes, you have stationed two food banks in Goa for the public, one each in the North and South. Great initiatives. But how are people to get there with no petrol and with cops sending them back? I personally have been to the two petrol pumps in my village every day for the last 3 days to find them both closed.
A few days ago you went back on your decision of a lockdown and said that the citizens will be responsible for the outbreak? It is pathetic to have a leader making a statement like that at a crucial time – and to blame the public for a situation that is born out of your lack of leadership.
Do we need to bring your attention to the state of affairs at our hospitals, Doctor? If food supplies are not reaching people, it would have been understandable if you were diverting your focus to improving our hospitals to deal with a health crisis instead. But when a man who tested positive was sent back home after the test – and no ambulance was sent to pick him up after the error was discovered – putting every other person who came in contact with him and the cousin who drove him back to the hospital – at risk, it’s safe to assume that our medical facilities are not up to par, either.
You, Sir, seem to have taken no inspiration from the honourable Dr. Parrikar, whose picture you keep at the side of your seat in your office – a man who excelled at administration and who would have set the ball rolling on Day 1. You haven’t been acting the way a Chief Minister should at all! And why is that? Isn’t this your state to run? Honestly, I feel like your government exists to serve casinos and miners only. Who cares about the starving public?
It’s time for you to get your act together or step aside and let a leader take charge – as simple as that. It’s either that or you will be removed for good when the next election comes around. Right now, people are running out of patience, and have no faith in the rules you put out and revoke at the drop of a hat.
The little support you have managed to garner from the public stems largely from those who have stockpiled essentials and are sorted for the next few weeks. Today’s newspaper states that trucks carrying vegetables will be allowed in Goa – but who can believe that this decision won’t be revoked by lunchtime?
You, and only you, Dr. Sawant are to take responsibility for anything that happens in the state – good or bad. Do better.
From,
A Goan.