MyVoice: Views of our readers 30th May 2020

Lockdown a total failure

On May 28, India recorded about 4,500 deaths from Covid-19. Using the estimated fatality rate and noting that deaths lag infections by about 18 days, this suggests that there were at least about half a million cases on May 10.

Extrapolating this figure to the present, using the doubling time of recorded deaths, leads to the conclusion that there are more than a million cases in the country today.

This implies that the 158,000 cases that the authorities have identified constitute less than one-sixth of all cases, and moreover that most of the undetected cases are currently active.

Contact-tracing cannot succeed in such a setting. The government has also failed to use the lockdown to ameliorate the shortage of personal protective equipment.

In his speech on May 12, the Prime Minister explained that domestic manufacturers could produce "two lakh N-95 masks" per day. But this is a small number by global standards.

Figures from the US suggest that, under best practices, hospitals may require as many as 35-40 masks per day per patient. Even if masks are rationed and reused, domestic manufacturing capacity is insufficient to meet the demand from the increasing number of cases.

Most seriously, the lockdown has destroyed the livelihood and economic security of millions of people. And although more than a hundred million jobs were lost in April, the government provided little direct relief.

Economic compulsions will make it impossible for people to sustain physical-distancing measures that might otherwise have been manageable.

Therefore, by relegating the welfare of people to an afterthought, and by offering only measly relief measures, the government has contributed to the failure of its own epidemic-control efforts.

Raghunandan Rao Y, Kadapa, AP

Modi's belligerence no good

No sane government in India, or for that matter any country, would take on two powerful adversaries at the same time.

But Modi has been harping upon Pakistan's illegal occupation of two-fifths of Kashmir and opposing the creation of CPEC ever since he has come to power.

So DBG too has acquired a strategic significance to China because it is now convinced that it faces a government that not only does not respect the commitments made by its predecessors, but is driven by the impulses of a Prime Minister who has made a habit of leaping before he looks.

The purpose of China's choice of this particular area for its intrusions is therefore clear.

Although it has not formally abrogated the 1993 agreement, it believes that the Modi government has thoroughly undermined the underlying premise upon which it was based.

It has therefore gone back to the age-old strategy of minimising potential risks when faced by a potential enemy.

Atul Kabra, Gachibowli, Hyderabad

Handle Nepal issue amicably

India needs to handle Nepal issue immediately and diplomatically. We tend not to pay attention to smaller issues especially with Covid-19 crisis on, but slowly it will snowball into a major issue if not attended to.

In such a case, it will take a lot of effort to put down these fires. A bureaucratic-military delegation is the best bet to have a dialogue with Nepal and resolve this and focus towards dealing with bigger concerns at this stage.

Indian COAS General Narwane drew lot of flak for his comments, which in fact are quite precise. One should not forget that the people who are instigating and supporting these disputes, on both India and Nepalese side, are the same who would call his observations slander.

The chief is responsible for India's border security and its integration. If he cannot speak on its issues, who else can? Nepalese pride is as high as the Everest and India should not mistake size for competence.

We need to sit on table like equals and banking on age-old traditional friendship, get things in order.

Because if India would not be India without the Indian Army, Indian Army would not be this Army without Gurkha regiment. We should never forget that.

Niharika Anand, Hyderabad