It looks like our political leadership has left the citizens of the state to fend for themselves. The capital’s roads, including the highway and the colony and sector roads, are in shambles. Adding to it, the continuation of the lockdown has made life miserable for the business community, especially the daily wage earners. Many of the businesses are on the verge of collapse. The daily wage earners are almost starving. With no support from the government, many of them might die of hunger than of the coronavirus if the situation remains the same. Another worrying development is the growing case of the frontline workers, including police personnel and health workers, getting infected with Covid-19. In the Itanagar capital region (ICR) itself, 35 police personnel, including senior officials, tested positive for coronavirus.
Also, many of these health workers and police personnel are facing social stigmatization. It is unfortunate that the people of the state, instead of extending support to them, are behaving in such a rude manner. The frontline workers deserve our love and adulation at this juncture. Even as the state, especially the ICR, battles the rising cases of Covid-19, the political and bureaucratic leaderships are missing. There has been not a single word of solace from the policymakers of the state. Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his deputy, Chowna Mein, have hardly made public appearances, barring participating in a few official programmes through videoconference. The CM is currently camping at his hometown, Tawang, for the last many days. Union Minister of State (Independent) for Youth Affairs & Sports, Kiren Rijiju, who is also an MP from the state, has gone missing. He is busy posting videos of his official engagements on social media but has not spoken a word on the Covid-19 situation in the state. At a time when the people of state are facing immense mental stress due to the rising cases of Covid-19 and the lockdown, the political leadership has chosen to remain aloof. Perhaps they want the people to be ‘atmanirbhar’ and fight for their own survival without expecting any aid from the government. The opposition parties, including the Congress, too have gone on the silent mode.