BY GO Team
It’s good news that with six of the seven persons found positive for coronavirus in Goa having recovered, only one case remains and this too will declared clear and free soon! But the battle to keep the nightmarish infection is not over yet as long as the numbers in neighboring states continue to soar. In Goa although officially the lockdown has been extended till May 3 the essential goods market has opened up more liberally and post-March 14 Goans could be seen flocking to shop with abandon at the supermarkets open for business.
While some maintained discipline by letting only two or three shoppers into their freshly stocked air-conditioned store (e.g. Magsons Superstores) others threw caution to the wind letting just about everybody wander in to make their purchases. While the watchman at some places insist you put on a mask before entering, others are not so insistent. Most discerning niz Goenkar shoppers prefer to shop at their small neighborhood grocer’s store for quicker service. One could see brisk shopping for essential groceries like potatoes, onions and tomatoes, and the usual green vegetables, during the lockdown most folk preferred to stop by at the pavement stops where small urban farmers squatted in the morning and evening hours to retail local farm produce of bhindo, dudhi, chidki midki, mulo, mirsang of various varieties, drumsticks and more. Most shoppers prefer to shop for fresh local vegetables even if they are more highly priced then the stocks which have started coming in from the Belgaum wholesalers.
An interesting feature is the better of farmers have started selling in their vans and cars which they park at vantage places in capital city Panaji – here one may buy pineapples, watermelons and early season mangoes are attracting enthusiasm although one shopper when queried said, “I bought a dozen Goan alponso for Rs400 but they did not turn out to be so good! I should have bought the much cheaper gota mangoes to make katha-peetha curry instead to eat with rice or bhakri.”
As life returns to normal Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said Goa moves into the green zone by April 17 if no new positive cases of Covid-19 turn up. Ever since the last positive case was detected on April 3 it’s been testings going on at a faster pace but with all tests turning up negative, a huge relief for government and Goans, a large chunk of whom are currently worried about their menfolk in the maritime and cruise ships stranded abroad at various ports because of the global lockdowns.
While South Goa Distgrict has officially been declared as the green zone, North Goa District remains in the red zone with just seven positive cases in recovery, it is really an orange zone as per Central government specifications. Only areas with more than 15 positive cases which come in the red zone category.
Despite the temptation to take the green status of Goa lightly vis-a-vis the coronavirus infection, social media messages have been going back and forth asking Goans to refrain from purchasing vegetables, fruit, chicken and mutton from Belgaum for another ten day since the infection is still very viral in Belgaum district and especially in the vegetable wholesale markets. An appeal has gone out to CM Pramod Sawant that goods vehicles should not be allowed to come into Goa for another two weeks or so or at least until the full lockdown is lifted. Everybody is scared of the novel coronavirus! Especially since a new study reveals that there is not just one strain of it but several strains now, each more deadlier – Type A (original), Type B (mutated and more deadly), Type C is a new type…cases of spikes and mortality depend on which type is circulating where around the globe. Either human beings have to learn to live with these viruses and hope to acquire immunity or start living at high risk with as many precautions as possible in place!
TATA TRUST HELPS OUT!
The Tata Trusts can always be relied to help out in a crisis or emergency. It is currently airlifting critical supplies for countrywide deployment to support India’s Covid-19 interventions. The operation is being done with the support of Tata International Ltd and items being imported and lifted
comprise Personal Protection Equipment kits (including coveralls, masks, gloves and goggles), N95/KN95 masks and surgical masks of different grades. The consignment of about one crore individual units will arrive in multiple batches and be deployed wherever needed the most in the coming weeks. The total value committed so far to sourcing material for the pandemic crisis is about Rs150 crore. The assignment was facilitated after Tata Trusts’ Chairperson Ratan N Tata passed the order, observing, “urgent emergency resources need to be deployed to cope with the needs of fighting the Covid-19 crisis which is one of the toughest challenges the human race will face.”