Lockdown 1.0 Roundup: Self Service and Serving Others!

In the time of Corona, trends are a fascinating feature that define society. Here is what is happening in Bangalore ever since the lockdown three weeks ago. There are lessons to be learnt, and future alignments to be made. Above all, compassion and secularism is something we should all practice for a better future.

STAY HOME, STAY SAFE

The persons who are most at risk are all the essential service providers, including the transporters, medical professionals, and the civic and police officials. To thank the cops and other civic authorities like Bescom, BBMP and BWSSB for doing yeoman’s service, some residents in Bangalore are sponsoring masks. Several NGOs have also got into action, delivering food to the poor and helpless migrants across the city. The residents are also spreading awareness of social distancing by saying ‘no’ to loitering in public places, not even walking and jogging, as they are risking themselves and others. A few other residents are suggesting people to watch the Hollywood film Contagion, which is similar to the current situation. They contend that viewing this movie would help ignorant souls to understand the danger posed by COVID-19. Supermarkets like More are now screening people with forehead thermometers and not allowing anyone who is running a temperature. Technology is also being used to contain the spread of the virus. In a first, drones are being used to check the movement of people and vehicles in high density areas. This is the police department’s way to strategise and effectively deploy police where they are needed. Therefore, if you don’t spot a police vehicle, do know that the drones are watching over you. Stay indoors. Similarly, the the Bangalore South division of the police has identified essential service providers on Google Maps and put it on public domain, so people can locate them quickly. Vegetable vendors are allowed to deliver groceries to people’s doorsteps.

MISINFORMATION AND RUMOURS

It is hard to decifer the truth in fake-news social media. If some are about the deteriorating law and order situation, others are about health or communally-insensitive videos that are based on old videos recaptioned to propagate false news. Many people, young and old, literate and illiterate, continue to fall prey to them, making the situation worse. Therefore, some WhatsApp group admins turned off messages from members, while only the admins were uploading verified forwards. This prevented the forwarding of “unverified” messages that were either malicious and sensationalist or misinformative.

In some cases, the admins themselves were so ignorant, insensitive and communal that they were found posting fake messages and videos and endorsing their validity. Thankfully, the media persons and better-informed people in such groups unmasked the blatant lies. We would advise our readers to always refer to fake news busting websites like Alt News if they come across such information. The Karnataka Police has also launched a fact check website that could come in handy. However, the best way to recognised fake news from genuine is this: if the purported ‘news’ story is too good to be true, it is usually fake. Such is the sensationalism of these fake news alerts that even union minister VK Singh fell for it recently by citing a fake WhatsApp forward on national television. Similarly, a few residents banished rumours like their areas were being sealed by the cops when only a couple of stations are sealed today (Padarayanapura and Bapujinagar). In such areas, BBMP are supplying groceries to the residents, and no vehicle movement is allowed as five fresh cases were noticed in those regions. Residents are also creating awareness among people that coronavirus can transmit from humans to animals, and not the other way around as many people were abandoning pets. Therefore, it pays to use common sense in such circumstances. When the coronavirus does not discriminate, we shouldn’t either. Therefore, stay safe, stay indoors, and avoid forwarding messages without verifying their authenticity. Just because your relative, political party, company, or friend forwarded the message to you does not mean it’s genuine. Forwards are propaganda machines by miscreants, political parties, criminals, and fundamentalists who want to sow the seed of untruth and spread calumny and chaos. The best way out of this is not to ‘forward’ any messages unless they are your own.

PHILANTHROPY AND SELFLESSNESS

We have also come across individuals, corporates, and NGOs who are doing their bit to feed the migrants and the homeless who are trapped in the city. Similarly, the police and civic officials are doing their bit from government funds. However, much more needs to be done, as the poor need to survive for several weeks until the lockdown is officially over. Therefore, some residents are funding people and organisations they trust to deliver the food to the hungry. Some cyclists are running grocery errands for their sick and elderly citizens in their neighbourhood at no cost. BBMP has allowed vegetable vendors to sell groceries in open grounds across the city to avoid the spread of the disease in enclosed, air-conditioned spaces due to lack of social distancing. Many other firms are offering freebies, so people can educate and entertain themselves at home. Here is the ultimate list of such freebies that gets updated every other day. While criminal activity has also come down in the city due to the lockdown, there are other nefarious activities taking place, like the manufacture and sale of fake masks, sanitisers, and forehead thermometers. While our city rounds have shown that most main roads that connect to other neighbourhoods are cordoned off by the police to avoid community transmission, the Covidiots in inner areas of some neighbourhoods are still not following the social distancing norms. The residents are petitioning the local police authorities to seize vehicles and arrest such people flouting the norms. Therefore, if the cops act tough on you, remember that they are only doing their duty to protect you, and people like you.

POLLUTION

With no vehicles, barely functioning restaurant chimneys, and office air conditioning, the air and noise pollution has come down drastically in the city. However, the pollen counts are also negligible, either from grass, ragweed, or trees. However, residents living near polluting garbage composting areas like Kudlu where you have the Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC), are still breathing stink and forever fighting for their ‘right to breathe’.

PRAY

When no advanced technology can help us right now, all we need is to meditate, have a clean conscience for every living being on the planet, and pray for world peace. Today, more than ever, there is no other prayer that will work. If the outside world is safe, only then can the inside world continue to be safe. The lockdown will not be lifted until that happens. Importantly, practice empathy. At a time when downsizing and business collapses are looming large over the world economy, empathy will save humankind. Therefore, meditate, pray, and be good to yourself and everyone around you, without caring for religion, socio-economic status, or political affiliation. We need to get through this together in Lockdown 2.0, and beyond.

AND FINALLY…

These are unprecedented times. Therefore, if you have a personal or neighbourhood emergency, call 100. They will help you tide over the lockdown obstacle. It could range from medical emergencies to shortage of groceries, and so on. Help is only a call away. Similarly, if you spot people violating the social distancing rules in your neighbourhood, call the cops, and avoid engaging with them yourself. Leave it to the professionals.