Political clashes in the time of a deadly pandemic are probably unthinkable anywhere in India, except for West Bengal. It is election time, and the need for area dominance by the workers and goons of the political parties has increased manifold. And in such critical times, political leaders do focus more on protecting their political assets than protecting the people in general. At least so in Bengal.
The daily covid infection figure on Friday was 12,876. During the first wave, it never went much beyond 5,000. Now, the experts feel, it will reach 15,000 within days. At last, the Election Commission has restrained the campaign. Big gatherings have been cancelled. But during political clashes, hundreds of people assemble in a place, and its aftershock involves thousands.
Such clashes have occurred since last night in Tapsia in Kolkata, Amdanga and Naihati in North 24 Parganas, Vetagudi in Cooch Bihar, and other places in Murshidabad and some other districts. In many other places, where the polls have taken place last Thursday or is due on coming Monday tension is brewing.
Meanwhile, though covid cases are much less in number in Bengal than in Maharashtra or Delhi, critical patients are not getting beds in hospitals. The picture is worst in Kolkata, where the hospitals are registering names of the patients on the waitlist. But each patient in ICU is now taking 7-8 days to recover, and the doctors feel the waitlist is meaningless in case of critical covid patients. The common man is asking why the governments, state and central, failed to gear up for such a situation when it was known a second wave was awaited.
Even in Kolkata, bodies of people dying of covid are not being taken by the Kolkata corporation on time. One such body was taken after 16 hours after being reported in the visual media extensively. The covid report from the labs that earlier reached the patients in 24 hours is now coming after 72 hours. Some cases have already been reported when the positive report came after the death of the patients.
The state government has formed two task forces and has written a letter to the centre requesting it not to take the oxygen produced in Bengal for use in other states. But the situation is worsening, and polling is yet to take place in 71 constituencies on Monday and Thursday. If the covid protocol is not strictly adhered to during the polls, the situation may turn even worse.
(The author Diptendra Raychaudhuri is a senior journalist based in Kolkata. He has a wide range of experience in covering West Bengal politics and has authored several books)