Bandra furore
It was a dam waiting to burst. And it did, hours after the Prime Minister announced extension of the nationwide lockdown. Thousands of migrant workers, stranded for the past three weeks with neither work nor money, thronged the bus depot near the Bandra railway station in suburban Mumbai. These daily wagers were hoping — against hope — to catch trains to reach their homes in states such as UP and Bihar. The workers’ despair and desperation forced them to defy the restrictions, making a mockery of social distancing. With Maharashtra being the state worst affected by Covid-19, they put each other’s lives at enormous risk by gathering in the open. Though fortunately, there was no stampede or violent clashes between the workers and the police, the possibility of community transmission cannot be ruled out. Ironically, it all happened on the day the PM observed that the lockdown had played a key role in containing the infection.
The shocking incident caught everybody napping, be it the police, the Railways or the Maharashtra Government. The spot is located barely 2 km from the residence of CM Uddhav Thackeray, yet the labourers managed to flout the prohibitory orders, trickling in from nearby places. This free-for-all shows that the governments have failed to streamline relief operations for the jobless workers. Rather than indulging in the all-too-familiar blame game, the Central and state governments need to urgently work out ways to address the concerns of the migrant population.
The Railways’ inexplicable move to keep bookings open during the 21-day lockdown — despite the unlikelihood of resumption of passenger services amid the pandemic outbreak — was exactly what the rumour-mongers needed to mislead the people. The Bandra episode has sharply brought under scrutiny the hazardous spread of rumours and fake news through social and electronic media. An FIR has been registered against a TV journalist over his incorrect report that trains would restart. The authorities must crack the whip on fake news, which poses a threat to law and order. A proactive approach is needed to counter misinformation before things spin out of control. The media, on its part, should put in place a foolproof fact-check mechanism, leaving no room for ambiguity or manipulation.
