Essentials for lockdown population

True it is that lockdown had to be enforced for the health safety of the people in Jammu & Kashmir like other parts of the country but equally important is the availability of essentials in any part of the country and more so in Jammu & Kashmir keeping in view its topographical position and vulnerability to frequent traffic disruptions on Srinagar-Jammu highway, the only surface link connecting Kashmir with Jammu and other parts of the country. Keeping in view the intensifying fear gripping hapless populations due to unprecedented increase in the number of persons testing positive, the government has to maintain regular supply chain of essential commodities and medicines. Forget about social distancing and wearing masks and other protective gears, the people in both Jammu & Kashmir provinces don’t think about venturing out till the decline in the number of positive cases and as such people want the government and the volunteers to drop essential commodities at their door steps. While it is believed that the present stocks are not sufficient enough to cater to the needs of the hapless populations for a longer time, the supply position in Jammu too is not sufficient enough to cater to the needs of the people there also. Care needs to be taken that any casual approach on the hassle free availability of essential commodities and medicines in the wake of extension in the lockdown period could trigger major crisis in Kashmir valley. The reports about the shortage of medicines are highly disturbing and government has to ensure that disruption in the chain supply of both the medicines and as well as essential commodities is resolved before it triggers a major crisis in both Kashmir and Jammu divisions. Although Minister of State (MoS) in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has claimed that cargo planes will be used for uninterrupted supply of both the medicines and as well as essential commodities to Kashmir and Ladhak populations but words will have to be translated into actions immediately as this is not the normal lockdown which Kashmir witnessed frequently in recent years.
The government has to step in not only for taking services at the door step but also the goods of normal human consumption as well.
The lockdown violations would by all probabilities intensify after every passing day if government fails to put in place home delivery facilities for both the medicines and as well as essential commodities. Though a private grocery centre in old Srinagar city has started taking orders of essential commodities from consumers and dropping them at their door steps, but the inability of the said grocery centre to arrange the manpower required for extending such a facility in a hostile security atmosphere would restrict this home delivery system to few old city parts. Similarly a drug outlet in an uptown area is taking orders for home delivery of medicines from the people but the said drug outlet can’t extend home delivery facility to entire city keeping in view the shortage of manpower required for extending such facility to larger areas and strict police restrictions on the movement of the people. So the government has to step in not only for taking services at the door step but also the goods of normal human consumption as well.