'Urban India is staring at a possible spike in food prices and scarcity of fruits and vegetables in the coming days, as transport curbs and pandemic fears open up a wide chasm between the farm and the fork. Major crop-growing states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh have imposed lockdowns or curfews in a desperate attempt to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Inter-state goods transport is at risk as well, as truck drivers are harassed at borders, and casual labourers who sort, grade and load harvests are in short supply.
'In his new book, Sebastian & Sons, TM Krishna tells of Parlandu, the “greatest mrdangam maker ever”. Parlandu was Dalit, as all makers of the mrdangam, a percussion instrument made with cow hide which is integral to Carnatic music, are. He was employed by Vaidyanatha Ayyar and, later, by his legendary pupil, the revered Carnatic musician Palghat Mani Iyer. Both teacher and disciple, as almost all mrdangam players, were Brahmin.
'Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday said that if the people did not adhere to the curfew implemented across the state, he would be forced to issue 'shoot at sight' orders and appealed to citizens to ensure that the situation does not get out of hand. "If people don't listen to the police, we will need to impose curfews and issue shoot at sight orders. If then also people don't listen, then we will have to deploy the Army. Is that necessary? Should it come to that? People should reflect on this and exercise restraint. We should not make things worse.
'Jayaprakash Muliyil is one of India’s foremost epidemiologists, with decades of experience in the study of infectious diseases. The former principal of the Christian Medical College in Vellore spoke to Scroll.in about India’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.
'Emergency procurement of personal protective equipment—or PPE—such as masks, gloves and respirators for healthcare workers, remain stalled. PPE manufacturers are opposing the Indian government’s decision to centralise procurement through HLL Lifecare Limited, a government-owned company that has been granted the monopoly over the procurement of PPE kits. Officials from the ministry of health, the ministry of textiles, and representatives of HLL met twice on 23 March to iron out problems caused by the monopoly, the delays in supply of PPE kits, as well as lockdown.
'Indian health workers are putting their lives at risk to fight the coronavirus disease. But opaque government decision-making is delaying the supply of crucial equipment needed to shield them from infection, prompting manufacturers’ associations to allege that “malintentions” have undermined the procurement process, an investigation by Scroll.in has revealed.
'...These lockdowns are the latest in an expanding COVID-19 government response which included travel restrictions, issuing protocols, guidelines, and advisories, providing testing, establishing isolation and quarantine centers and setting aside hospital and ICU beds. While the initiative is commendable, there have been concerns around decisional delays and a lack of clear communication and transparency.
'Healthcare personnel in India face a dire situation in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic with a shortage of quality personal protective equipment (PPE) looming as Indian manufacturers say they don’t know what to produce in the absence of health ministry specifications for them...'
'Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said an economic package for the coronavirus-hit sectors will be announced "as soon as possible". The minister, however, did not give any timeline by when the package will be unveiled... The finance minister also said the task force announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is yet to be constituted... Asked about relief measures for the financial sector, Ms Sitharaman said, "SEBI has come up with a list of regulations which will also sort of keep the markets a bit stable. But I can't say what I am doing for the markets.
'Has community transmission of coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak begun in India? It may well have, but we wouldn’t know because we are not testing enough people, say experts. “Community transmission began in India two to three weeks ago, around the same time as other countries. India is not an exception to the way the virus behaves. We just haven’t tested a representative sample that the country’s population of 1.34 billion demands,” said Ramanan Laxminayanan, director and senior fellow at Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy...'
