Saqib Gull
Corona virus the Noval COVID-19 has engulfed almost every country in its effect. Being Noval and eccentric no one is still able to counter it completely and the result is it has brought everyone on knees and complled to bite the nails .Let’s not talk much about this virus i.e, what it is ,it’s chain of transmission , prevention , precautions etc as it is the burning topic of the day and there is already a lot of hue and cry on various social media platforms and other means of communication. let me through some light on how we people of Kashmir are reacting to this and what are the implications of this WHO declared Pandemic Virus on us. Kashmir known by many sobriquets that is” Land of saints “(paer waer), the Paradise on earth, and Switzerland of India, the land of pure hearted and innocent people and so on. But I think all these sobriquets have lost their meaning feel dumb while repeating all these for this land of breathtaking beauty. Kashmir has always witnessed chaos, confusion and turmoil and now it’s ill fated inhabitants are used to it .But not able to learn a single lesson from all this happening since decades back now .Be it the ongoing crises of Corona virus or other unrest like hartals , post encounter restrictions ,or the recent scraping of special Status of J&K ,the people of Kashmir can’t afford to spare one for their vested interests. As the scare of this Noval virus is looming high, whole world is busy in the endeavour of mitigating it but the people living here have found yet another opportunity to loot and mar their fellow brother. They have started to pomade their shops; they are not ashamed of inflating the ascribed prices of personal protecting equipments (PPP) like face masks, hands rubs, sanitizers etc. Few days ago I went with my champ to buy some N95 face Masks and to our surprise the shopkeeper refused by saying that he has sold all of them and now he was not going to keep them anymore as their price was inflated three times. Even some goons have started to manufacturer the substandard hand sanitizers to loot the layman by both hands. It’s not only about price hike during these untoward incidents but rumor culture is also at its zenith in Kashmir.
Need of the hour is to jolt our conscience, we need to rejuvenate our ancestral qualities of honesty and forbearance in order to get salvation from this deadly virus and other tests and trials from our lord .
Nowadays one can see everywhere people spreading fake and false rumors about corona virus .Rather than striving and obeying the different health advisories and taking the necessary Dos and Don’ts in order to prevent it , people are seen giving currency to baseless and fake stuff. We have lost our conscience and values and are unable to feel the gravity of the situation. Instead of being submissive and repentant to Almighty we are busy in packing our pockets. Need of the hour is to jolt our conscience ,we need to rejuvenate our ancestral qualities of honesty and forbearance in order to get salvation from this deadly virus and other tests and trials from our lord .The authorities in power also need to be more vigilant and competent . Different market checking squads should be framed to catch the black sheep.
(The author is a student and employees at SKIMS. Views are his own, [email protected])
