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With the successful completion of the first phase of weeklong lockdown, the government has extended for one week till April 7 with the aim to contain the spreading cronavirus (COVID-19). It is likely that another one week lockdown period would be extended again as the lockdown is the one and only option to stem the threat of spreading of coronavirus pandemic. People across the country have largely obeyed the government’s ruling except some incidents of violations. As the decision to enforce lockdown was made not to panic the people but to save the lives from the spreading threat of deadly virus, there would not difficult to implement the lockdown even for more two weeks. The government, however, should have learnt lesion from the first phase of weeklong lockdown to make effective and result oriented in days to come. The people in general have already aware that coronavirus pandemic can be deadly if preventive measures are not followed strictly. Considering to the situation, the government and other concerned agencies should not indulge on just to teach the people about hand washing method or to mention social distances to be safe from the spreading of virus.
With the announcement of the second phase of lockdown, the government has come up with some relief measures on the name of extending support to the poor and vulnerable people hit by the lockdown followed by the global pandemic, COVID-19. The relief announcement ranges from fiscal measures like deferment of tax filing and relaxation on compliance to supply of free or subsidized foods, waiver on tariffs of internet, electricity and other supplies of daily essentials. However, the government’s relief announcement sounds like hollow decision and motivated for the peoples’ sentiment consumption. The relief announcement like making request to the house owners to waive the rent of one month would benefit nothing to the informal sectors’ workers because it is not only mandatory but no incentive is announced for the landlords. The first and foremost thing to do by the incumbent government is--coordination among state agencies not only stanch the spreading coronavirus outbreak but also to curtail the adverse effects of black-marketing prevailed on the name of short of supply during the lockdown. It is not only pitiable but also a matter of shame to a nation that heath agencies and officials have failed even to provide heath facilities due to the lacking of essential materials. Inadequacy of medical and human resources should be solved first by coordinating with the state agencies as well as international communities. The Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) and other vital testing tools should be delivered in all the health centers realizing to the fact that the coronavirus has already spread even in the rural parts of the country through the returnees of different countries.
The spread of coronavirus would contain with the effective implementation of lockdown. But the government should manage the lockdown considering to the fact that acute shortage of daily essentials like food and fuel in the kitchen of the households would invite severe consequence in a society and the nation as well. As the first phase of a weeklong lockdown has already compelled people to run out of daily essentials, the government has to bring a policy to run the grocery stores and dealers by channelizing the supplies of these essentials. There is no necessary to offer 10 percent discount or the falsely vowed commitment to deliver the daily essentials even in the doorsteps of the consumers only if the black-marketing was checked by channeling the supplies. The government has to assure the general public first from the deeds but not words that people can purchase daily essential without any hassles in a fair prices. While entering in the second phases of weeklong lockdown, the government should come with the realization that mobilization of the security personnel in the streets would not work to stop the hungry people from coming out in the streets if the stock runs out in their kitchens. Another foremost thing is that the government should concentrate to control the black marketing, corruption and any forms of malpractice that have already smell rat with the spread of global pandemic and lockdown. As the government’s decision to transfer budgets allocated in the annual expenditure program, tap into various funds like natural disaster fund and mobilize international assistance from development partners to meet the resources needed for these relief measures would be porn for corruption, the state agencies responsible for corruption control like Commission For the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) should be vigilant for the decisions made from the federal government to provincial and local governments
