MyVoice: Views of our readers 18th April 2020

Extend a helping hand

As of date, Covid-19 has affected around 20 lakh people and took away lives of over a lakh of people. No one knows how long it will go on and how much damage it will leave on the global memory. However, the governments of respective countries are managing well to prevent it. And, it is not an overstatement to talk about the efforts being taken by the Indian government and the governments of respective States to control Covid-19 are unimaginable. India seems to be much better in taking preventive measures such as early imposition of countrywide 'lockdown 'and so on. Had India not imposed lockdown so early, it would have lost so many lives. Besides this, the support of all sections has saved Indians from huge damage. Thus, India is safe from all sides. Hats off to people, who are extending their cooperation to the government of India. So, this is not the time to question what the country has given to us, but to introspect what we are giving to the country. One must think that this is an opportunity to help the country and its people by giving out mite to the needy in times of distress. When Lal Bahadur Sastry was the Prime Minister of India there was scarcity of food grains, and the entire country was waiting for maize from America. Sastry had given a slogan "miss a meal" to the entire nation to protect all. Thus, keeping the spirit of our leaders in mind we should also help others who cannot survive on their own at this juncture.

Dr Venkat Avula,Hyderabad

Keep religion away from coronavirus

As the coronavirus sweeps across India, Modi's government has responded by imposing a lockdown on the country's 1.3 billion people. As of Friday, India had announced 437 deaths from the disease. The coronavirus has also exacerbated festering divisions between the country's Hindus and its sizable Muslim minority, many of whom have seen their livelihoods threatened by the establishment of quarantine zones in densely-packed areas like Dharavi. There have been at least 71 confirmed cases in Dharavi. A deep-rooted distrust of Modi by Muslims follows months of protests against a new citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslims, and a crackdown by Centre in the Muslim-majority territory of Kashmir. There is no official breakdown of coronavirus cases by religion. But many Muslims feel unfairly blamed for spreading the disease after a cluster emerged at a gathering of Muslim missionaries in New Delhi last month. Sensational news coverage about the event, fanned by some Hindu nationalist politicians, helped spur the trending topic "Coronajihad" on social media. The missionary gathering has been linked to at least 1,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, and more than 25,500 people connected to it have been quarantined. Muslim leaders say a belief that the coronavirus is not real has spread in their communities, but that they have been working through mosques to change those perceptions. Let religions be on their own spiritual quests but let us be united in the fight against the killer virus. After all, we need religion only if are alive!

Nimisha Rao K, Hyderabad

NGOs do a herculean task

It was heartening to read that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in 13 States and Union Territories provided meals to more people than what their respective State governments did during the nationwide lockdown that started on March 25 in the wake of rapidly spreading novel coronavirus pandemic. According to a reply submitted by the Central government in the Supreme Court last week, a total of 84,26,509 people were provided meals across the country during the lockdown, which is set to end next week. Of these, 54.15 lakh people were fed by State governments while the remaining 30.11 lakh were fed by NGOs. An analysis of the state-wise data presented by the Centre shows that in 13 States and UTs, NGOs outperformed State governments in providing humanitarian relief in the form of free meals. Most of these meals were provided to stranded migrant labourers and the poor who have been hit the worst owing to loss of income during the lockdown. In Kerala and Telangana, all meals were exclusively provided by NGOs during the lockdown, the Centre's data show. Apart from providing meals to the needy, NGOs across the country also opened relief or shelter homes for people to take refuge. Central government's data shows that 10.37 lakh people in India took refuge in shelter homes provided by State governments and NGOs. Of these 10.37 lakh, or 39.14 per cent, are staying in camps set up by NGOs. Kudos to these selfless people!

Harsha Kumar Dodda, Vijayawada