Srinagar: The second wave of Covid-19, like other parts of the country, continues to create havoc in Jammu and Kashmir as the the Union Territory recorded its biggest single-day spike of 3,474 fresh COVID-19 cases and 26 coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday.
The surge in the daily COVID-19 cases from the last two week has created a buzz on social media with many people advocating for a complete lockdown to control the deadly virus.
According to official figures, the new cases and fatalities pushed the infection count to 1,72,547 and the death toll to 2,253 in Jammu and Kashmir.
“I believe there is a need for a brief lockdown of around 15 days to contain the spread of Coronavirus in Kashmir valley,” Iqra Mushtaq, an employee in a private sector, told Siasat.com. “There are many asymptomatic people who are spreading the virus like a wildfire and the situation can become from bad to worse if no lockdown is imposed,” Mushtaq said.
Heath experts believe that Covid-19 situation in the Union Territory is on the cusp of explosion as the flow of infected patients is increasing drastically every day.
Kashmir valley has poor healthcare facilities with just 2599 Covid beds, including 324 intensive care unit beds, for a population of more than 8 million people. Out of the total number of available beds, 1220 are already occupied.
“Our beds are full, oxygen points are occupied and we don’t have space in ICUs,” Dr Nissar Ul Hassan, President of the Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) said. “For the last few weeks, people in large numbers are coming to hospitals with severe bilateral pneumonia requiring oxygen and many needing intensive-care settings,” he added, saying that the virus has taken an ugly turn and if the restrictions are not imposed now, Kashmir valley will be in a situation which will be difficult to control.
Situation in Kashmir was in control as the scenic territory lying in the foothills of Himalayas was witnessing less than 100 cases in a day with almost no fatalities until the last week of March. The situation began to degenerate after Union Territory administration invited people from different parts of the country to visit tulip garden and the almond alcove.
“Government jeopardized our lives by inviting tourists to visit Kashmir when it knew that situation in Bengal, Delhi and Maharashtra was not good,” Aijaz Ahmad, a businessman, said, adding that LG administration should declare emergency in Jammu and Kashmir without any delay as the situation is going to get out of control in couple of weeks. “The government not only threw open the tulip garden and the almond alcove but they also organized concerts and other programmers in order to portray normalcy and development in the region following the abrogation of Article-370, and now the result is in front of us” he added.
The rough figures reported by local news gathering agencies in Kashmir claimed more than 5 lakh people visited these gardens after they were thrown open for the public. Pictures of the two gardens which went viral on social media revealed how tourists were roaming inside these gardens without following SOPs and putting up the masks.
Jammu and Kashmir administration in a meeting with Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on April 20 said the surge in UT was driven by “inbound travelers”.
A report published by The Quint claimed that more than 1.2 lakh visitors arrived in Kashmir from 7 December till 15 April.
The report added that in 2020, people who arrived in J&K via road were tested at the Kathua district of Jammu division, where as another facility was set up at Qazigund area of Kashmir division in July later to handle the increasing rush of inbound passengers to valley who were mostly labourers and skilled workers from different Indian states.
“Both the testing facilities were not functional because we thought the situation had improved,” a senior official of J&K administration’s Covid-19 task force told the Quint.
The report also claimed that tourists who landed at Srinagar airport were allowed to proceed to their destinations even though their RT-PCR test results were awaited.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration, on the evening of April 28, announced 84-hour lockdown in 11 districts of the UT starting from 7 pm on April 29. The announcement came a day after the administration ordered the imposition of 144 CrpC, banning the assembly of five or more persons in the summer capital of the J&K. This announcement went on toss as people continued to gather at different places in Srinagar although police personnel were seen implanting the orders at several locations.
People across Kashmir soon after the announcement of the 84-hour lockdown began to share their views on social media. The ones against the lockdown told Siasat.com that the government needs to find some alternative to the lockdown as thousands of daily wagers would struggle to meet their livelihoods.
“We should have been Covid free by now had appropriate measures been taken at an appropriate time there would have been no use of lockdown, but the government has a different priority in Kashmir,” Rayees Mir told Siasat.com.
“People who are in favor of lockdown are either rich or have government jobs, while as people like me who earn on a daily basis have do or die like situation,” Mir, a vendor said.
Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) and Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation (KTMF) in their statements issued to the media said that lockdowns have impacted the economy of Kashmir by large, but at this time safety is more important.
“There is no other solution to this pandemic other than lockdown to contain the spread,” Yaseen Khan, President KTMF said.