How many more waves..?

Shiban Khaibri
“All human plans are subject to ruthless revision by nature or fate or whatever one preferred to call the powers behind the universe..”
As we are vigorously battling against the second wave of corona-virus pandemic which has proven to be horrendous and more devastating than the ”first wave ” which we witnessed for the first time and even everyone had to undergo the strains, pressures, restrictions , curbs , checks and brakes besides those who unfortunately succumbed to the elusive virus , it looks most disturbing as also wondering that an “imminent third wave ” was in the offing . In simple parlance, it means that while second wave is not gone away and only given some respite to the people and to the already overburdened medical infrastructure, third wave was ”fast approaching “. The simple question to the experts who predict with precision about the inevitability of the third wave is as to where were they or what status was about their predictability about the current second wave . Had they predicted about it just in January this year and spoken about its mutant characteristics and intensity , most probably the State Governments and in particular the central government could have made same more arrangements in advance which were made only after the virus infection spread like a wild fire. Most probably, those make shift or temporary COVID care and quarantine centres would have not been dismantled , the pinch of which was felt after encountering shortage of beds for the patients during the current wave, oxygen and critical medicine shortage notwithstanding. However, the resilience of the country coupled with pooling in almost all possible efforts by the Government , as on date not only is there no cry against shortage of oxygen but production has gone up by as much as 10 times. The daily recorded cases of infection steadily going down to 1.32 lakh which only 20 days back were speeding to cross the whopping number of 5 lakh . The same position being in respect of the number of deaths. Again, the country has started “opening up ” though this time more cautiously.
The question , however, is what next . Are we to encounter the third wave which is very much ”imminent ” as per the experts ? Would, after the 3rd wave too is knocked down, the people to brace for the fourth , the fifth and so on ? This virus has not only killed the people wantonly cruelly , not only deprived them of doing their normal routine , not only fettered their basic instinct to move and be mobile , not only locked them in homes, not only devastated commerce and trade, not only impacted severely the economies but invaded our culture, education of children, rich traditions and practices. Seeing the children caged in rooms depict a heart touching picture and concerns are now virtually getting transformed into worries about the impact on their social grooming and their not developing a natural personality in natural openness.
Therefore, now is the moment when questions should be put , debates of serious nature held , more researches done and doubts cleared as to whether the virus which surfaced like a lightening as a result of its origin in what is known as zoonosis or an infection transmitted from animals to humans hence a zoonotic disease. Is World Health Organisation (WHO) which was found complicit in keeping silent when it probably heard about a leak from Wuhan Institute of Virology in China about the virus , still keeping the world deprived of correct information on the subject? Did it allegedly compromise its study of the Wuhan virus under Chinese influence? Was not in 2019 itself the virus first noticed in Wuhan as most complicated and intricate experiments and research on viruses has reportedly been done in this laboratory. In 2015 China even frantically tried to go in for partnership with other laboratories in some advanced countries to explore the ways as to how the virus found in bats could be transmitted to humans . How the human wind pipe or the area from larynx to lungs could be attacked by the virus to render the respiratory system non functional as reportedly such tests were conducted on rats. That being the job of experts in the field but common people in simple parlance somehow want to know authoritatively whether the virus spread on its own , naturally or it was manmade. However, WHO, it is feared, may lose its importance , reliability and relevance in the comity of nations should it not pool its resources all in knowing precisely about the origin of the virus and make it fairly known.
Some recent studies and significant COVID research , as per reports , have shown that there was no credible natural ancestor to this virus and that it was a Laboratory made virus, has gained more ascendency . Reports are there that a few British and Norwegian experts have firmly affirmed that the virus could have been manipulated.
What is the American role in getting to the depth of ”how the virus originated and spread so fast” as that country has suffered in no less measure killing more than 6 lakh of its people . That President Joe Biden ordering his intelligence officials to redouble their efforts to investigate the origin of the pandemic includes a ”search ” leading to Chinese Laboratory needs to be taken to logical ends. A period of 90 days has been fixed within which the report is to be submitted to release the contents for public information . While the finger of suspicion towards Chinese involvement of the spread of the virus – whether intentionally or accidently through a leak or whatever – the suspense , speculations , surmises and the quest to know exactly what happened must be thoroughly cleared . It will work in two ways . One – in case credible proof emerged of China doing it intentionally with ulterior motives , it can be named , shamed and charged of crimes against humanity and accordingly ”punished” by the world community economically, diplomatically and even militarily. Two – there should be international inspection of its biological laboratories in China and in its ”friendly” countries , if any. That would prove as a deterrent for any future biological attacks by any country to save innocent people from getting killed worldwide and economies getting crippled and collapsing. May be China emerged ”innocent” and that the virus had a proven and credible ”natural ancestor” , the doubts need to be dispelled and fears allayed which could be possible by China extending all co-operation to International Community , experts and scientists to inspect its suspect labs and carry necessary inspections . That is precisely important as waves after waves of virus attacks and paralysing human activities could not be just allowed to go on in ordinary course .
We in India are fighting the second wave resolutely and the rising curve has started fast descending . As on date, the country tops the world in vaccination drive in that 21 crore jabs of vaccination have been given. The 18 to 44 years age group currently getting vaccinated would further hopefully pick up the speed commensurate with expected increase in production and procurement of vaccines by the states and UTs. It is despite the fact that many States saw helplessly under their nose, vaccines getting wasted over and above the accepted national averages and despite very cheap politics played by most of the opposition parties which currently desperately want to stall the construction of the Central Vista Project. They are seemingly least bothered about the origin of the corona virus. They are also not bothered about Rs.862 crore being spent on “miscalculated priorities” but only on the “would be” wordings on the plaque of the new Parliament House. How can the plaque of the Parliament House carry the name of a person who is not conventionally though unwritten(ly) entitled to it even being the Prime Minister of India looking to the “conventional” names our Roads, Stadia, Airports, Hospitals, Prizes and Awards and what not carry . Noted Congress leader made no bones about it but in a different way, ” The government which comes to power in future must remove the plaque and instead write that the project was built despite the money needed to save people’s lives during the pandemic-it is an act of monumental insensitivity not to voluntary stop the project.” So , the fight is about the plaque and must be ”removed” under one or the other pretext. He must , however, as a legal luminary have gone through the Delhi High Court judgment against stopping the project and slapping a fine of Rs.1 lac on the petitioner of the PIL against the project.

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