Disaster management
Let me tell you a personal story.
Many times I face some problem with my laptop. Which has Linux OS. So to fix the problem, I google some solution. When that does not work, I get frustrated and try my own recipes. I remove some package, I disable some programs, I tinker and tinker and tinker.
And the end result is invariably the same. My computer won't start. Or rather it will not show me login screen. And believe me there is no ctrl z for advanced mistakes. I can't actually undo the steps either. Because I don't remember all of them.
So I do trial and error. And the errors never end. And finally after many hours of hard and stressful work, I fix it and wonder was it worth it?
Now I think we are in a similar situation now. We were attacked by an unknown insect - no a much smaller creature. Unknown virus - for which we don't have cure, not any vaccine, not even complete knowledge about how it spreads. So we thought if we keep people locked inside their houses, close down every thing, there will not be any contact among people and that will stop the virus.
Evidently it did not. But as a consequence millions have lost their jobs. And the workers who have lost their jobs and have been locked in shelters are waiting to go home - and never ever come back to these treacherous cities which was built by them.
If they do not come back, who will cook food for us, who will build our houses, our roads and metros, who will work in our factories? One can not expect us to do these manual labor ourselves. We can't and we don't know how to.
And what about these workers who reach their homes (if and when)? What will they eat? Remember they left their homes long ago because there was no work in their villages. And no, the situation hasn't magically improved in their villages.
So the question is when and how these monumental problems will be resolved? By whom?
P.S. After a visit to another part of Bangalore today, I feel the situation is not as bleak as they say. May be the ground reality is not very bad and we Indians are more resilient as we survive among hardships each day.
Many times I face some problem with my laptop. Which has Linux OS. So to fix the problem, I google some solution. When that does not work, I get frustrated and try my own recipes. I remove some package, I disable some programs, I tinker and tinker and tinker.
And the end result is invariably the same. My computer won't start. Or rather it will not show me login screen. And believe me there is no ctrl z for advanced mistakes. I can't actually undo the steps either. Because I don't remember all of them.
So I do trial and error. And the errors never end. And finally after many hours of hard and stressful work, I fix it and wonder was it worth it?
Now I think we are in a similar situation now. We were attacked by an unknown insect - no a much smaller creature. Unknown virus - for which we don't have cure, not any vaccine, not even complete knowledge about how it spreads. So we thought if we keep people locked inside their houses, close down every thing, there will not be any contact among people and that will stop the virus.
Evidently it did not. But as a consequence millions have lost their jobs. And the workers who have lost their jobs and have been locked in shelters are waiting to go home - and never ever come back to these treacherous cities which was built by them.
If they do not come back, who will cook food for us, who will build our houses, our roads and metros, who will work in our factories? One can not expect us to do these manual labor ourselves. We can't and we don't know how to.
And what about these workers who reach their homes (if and when)? What will they eat? Remember they left their homes long ago because there was no work in their villages. And no, the situation hasn't magically improved in their villages.
So the question is when and how these monumental problems will be resolved? By whom?
P.S. After a visit to another part of Bangalore today, I feel the situation is not as bleak as they say. May be the ground reality is not very bad and we Indians are more resilient as we survive among hardships each day.
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