Author:
Publication: Goa Chronicle
Date:  May 22, 2020
URL:      https://goachronicle.com/mr-thackeray-mumbai-can-bounce-back/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

I love Mumbai.

I met my wife in Mumbai. My two beautiful daughters were born in Mumbai.

Mumbai encapsulates everything about India. It is the energy of India.

I breaks my heart to see the vicious onslaught of the coronavirus in Mumbai. And sadly this is only a tip of the iceberg.

I am certain that Mumbai will have a considerable number of asymptomatic cases besides the growing number of positive COVID-19 cases that have been detected. There will be many that will not be detected because they would not be tested.

Containing the spread of the coronavirus in a metropolitan city like Mumbai was always going to be a challenge and it was going to take immense focus by the government to put in place strictures and firm non-pharmaceutical measures to deal with the health crisis.

The current leadership in the Maharashtra government is a farce. It has turned out to be a family venture of strategists and planners when no-one knows the A of dealing with a health crisis coupled with a soon-arriving economic crisis.

Let me be brutally honest Mr Uddhav Thackeray. You are not an administrator. You can occupy your CM’s chair. Get your son to connect with his Bollywood friends to tweet Best CM but if you look at that PR exercise now in hindsight, you have made a complete fool of yourself.

The coronavirus pandemic was the perfect opportunity for you Mr Thackeray to show India that you are a leader of merit and reckoning. A crisis is what brings out the true character of a leader.

I must humbly state that you have turned out to be a complete failure. And I blame you only because it is your own decision to surround yourself with foolish advisors who do not understand health or economic crisis.

Millions of people in Mumbai are in danger. They were in danger from the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The simple reason being the transit of people to and from Mumbai through airports, railways and roadways.

I am certain that Mumbai will have many people who will be infected but we will not know until we increase our testing capabilities in the city.

Mumbai being the financial capital of India. You will have many citizens inching to get back to normal life and brace for the economic meltdown. So at some point we would have to open up Mumbai. That is when we will see the real onslaught of the virus. So we need to be prepared for it.

No one understands the nature of the coronavirus. Countries that have manage to control the spread of the virus have done so with strict non-pharmaceutical measures.

Mumbai is like a tiny global nation, with a mind and resistance of its own. We need measures that can be adhered to by the people of Mumbai.

The best trait of a Mumbaikar is that they are sensible and adaptable. They can face the worst tragedy and still bounce back with energy and confidence.

The people of Mumbai need to be trusted. They can win the battle against the coronavirus not the government.

The government can only direct. And your government has been making a mess of the administration in a health crisis.

People need to take charge. Empower the people of Mumbai to be responsible for their city. Set the parameters and see the difference. Mumbaikars will act. They will enforce the measures, so that they can save their city.