Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik always takes the right step at the right time. The latest example of this is his decision to impose fresh restrictions, including night curfew, in all the urban areas of the state in view of the spurt in COVID-19 cases. By imposing such curbs, the Chief Minister has sent out a message that while stricter measures have become necessary to tackle the challenge posed by the second wave of the pandemic, the government is equally keen to protect the livelihood of the people. The economy, having already suffered a lot, will find it hard to sustain another blow.
Thus, even in districts bordering high-case-load states such as Chhattisgarh, the administration has sought to impose restrictions in a manner that does not affect the livelihood of people. Neither businesses nor the service sector has been affected in any significant manner. But people have been sufficiently warned that they should follow the guidelines issued by the government in letter and spirit in their own interest.
It is hard to blame the government for acting tough at this juncture when the number of COVID-positive cases in the state is rising at an alarming rate. Though the situation in Odisha is still much better than many other states of the country, the Chief Minister obviously believes in mounting precautionary measures before things turn critical.
This has been his strategy right from the beginning. He was first off the blocks when the first wave of COVID-19 had hit the country and the world. Even before Odisha reported its first COVID-positive case Patnaik had imposed necessary curbs to deal with the situation by invoking the provisions of Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). At the same time, he took steps to strengthen the state’s health care infrastructure by upgrading hospitals even in far-off areas and making them well-equipped to tackle COVID-19 cases successfully.
One of the most important moves of the Chief Minister was to set up exclusive COVID hospitals in the state which became a role model for the rest of the country. Plasma therapy was put to good use in treating COVID patients. As a result, the situation in Odisha was brought under control much faster than in many other parts of the country.
As the second wave of COVID-19 hit the country and Odisha, too, felt the pressure, Patnaik once again went into action mode and asked officials to ensure that people followed the COVID protocol strictly. When he saw people taking it easy, he instructed the police top brass to launch a statewide drive to punish the violators. He himself urged the people to behave in a responsible manner and take part in the “Mask Abhiyan” (mask-wearing campaign). Thanks to such initiatives the situation in Odisha is still much better than many other Indian states where the virus is taking a heavy toll on human lives. The five-time CM is, thus, fully justified in imposing the new curbs as long as they are enforced in a manner that will not affect livelihoods.
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