People switch off lights, light diyas on PM’s call amid questions over move

April 5, 2020
New Delhi: Even as there were over 3,500 coronavirus cases on Sunday and the death count reached 83, most parts of the country responded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for lighting a candle, a diya or flashing mobile torches for nine minutes switching off all other lights at 9 PM.

But a large number of people went a step ahead and burst fire crackers, polluting the air which had seen a definite improvement during the last 11 days of the lock down.

In the national capital, Prime Minister Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind lit divas. The Prime Minister also posted his photos along with a Sanskrit shloka. His mother Hira Ba too took part in this exercise.

The move, which was aimed at expressing solidarity in fight with corona, was however, seen by many as nothing but a tokenism with not much meaning in a situation when the country was lacking very crucial equipment and resources for preventing corona and treating its victims.

The Diwali-like celebrations were found not appropriate for an occasion which was solemn as the country faced rising number of deaths and fresh cases of corona infection, and on top of it serious doubts over the preparedness of the country in case these numbers rise exponentially.

Concrete steps to mitigate the economic loss to migrant workers, land less labourers and daily wage earners are yet to be announced by the government.

There were also questions on how the government was planning to ramp up the production of personal protective equipment (PPE) and masks for doctors who face the threat of getting infected.

—India News Stream