Srinagar : The English saying— an ounce of protection is worth a pound of cure—means a little precaution before crisis hits is better than a lot of firefighting afterwards. Whilst the West may have forgotten its own wise words, farther in the East in a miniscule city of Srinagar, long before the deadly Covid-19 set the alarm bells ringing, mindful preventive measures were being taken.
According to wire service—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), assessing the seriousness of the situation with agility of mind, the deputy commissioner Srinagar Dr. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary made a plan of action to prevent and control the spread of this pandemic. He conducted several meetings to discuss the response mechanism required to be activated to prevent the spread of CoVID-19. DC directed immediate district wide awareness campaigns at both district and zonal levels about coronavirus to control its spread.
Not a day goes by without him holding a meeting, creating rapid response teams, reviewing hospital preparedness in terms of isolation wards and ventilator management. He also directed for identifying gaps in the execution of the plans as well as in the laboratory supports required to identify suspected cases and then to control its spread.
Like a needle and thread at work to close the gap between two patches of the same cloth, this pandemic has brought the valley an equilibrium of opinions even if it’s for a short while.
Working parallel to DC Srinagar, the Mayor of Srinagar city, Junaid Azim Mattu worked to protect the city from the swampy tentacles of the deadly Covid-19 and took some harsh measures, amidst heavy criticism. Mattu, was first to advice the closure of schools and other educational institutions as a necessary measure to fight this pandemic. He didn’t stop there. He further went to SMHS, donning the CoVID-19 dress by WHO to assess beforehand the preparedness.
Soon after the first confirmed case of CoVID-19 in the Khanyar area of Srinagar, Mayor Srinagar proclaimed that even before the first ray of sun is out a joint team of SMC and Revenue department (District Administration) will conduct a survey of 300m radius from the house of the positive case, which will be important for quarantine. Moreover, an intensive inch by inch sanitisation with specialized chemical spraying was done in entire neighbourhood where the positive case of CoVID-19 was detected.
He regularly chairs meetings about further actions like carrying sterilisation drives on roads and public transport. Only yesterday he personally visited LT. Governor and requested the restoration of 4g services in U.T for mass awareness campaigns. Working round the clock these two men along with so many others are trying to protect the rest of us. Keeping in mind their valour and efforts lets cooperate and do what’s best for not only us but our fellow citizens—(KNO)
