The haul up is going to take time in fact a long one as the virus is unrelenting and spreading like a wild jungle fire taking with it everyone that comes in its way!
To be honest the situation is bad and thus the fighting strength of those slogging it up front has to be augmented and thus the reinforcement forces are being pushed.
Men who are well aware as to how adverse situations are to be tackled are being rushed in with just one aim and that is to serve and save humanity.
Obviously one wants some calm heads around to tackle a situation that has been ruined by some unsound methodology of some people who thought that tackling the virus was akin to a walk in the park.
Other than sitting back in safe precincts and passing instructions they can do precious little as the resilience of the people is cracking.
Maybe these Ex-servicemen, volunteers, retired police officials, former officers and men of Armed Forces Medical Corps and NCC Cadets bring in something positive.
As India reels under the self inflicted catastrophe it has become mandatory that the work force of the fighters in the front line is augmented. We have a trained and a dedicated workforce in the form of retired officers and men from the belt forces who know the art of fighting the dangers. They know that it’s not a conventional warzone but is definitely akin to that with the enemy being the invisible virus carrying the excessive payload of a double strain. The thing would have been well controlled had the Government not gone gung ho about its achievements which were as hollow, as hollow as an egg shell, you can conveniently add, hollow and wasteful as a whirlwind.
Here was a daughter describing her retired father who was contemplating to fight the Covid-19, which he has eventually decided to do. Her description, ‘he moved like a clockwork soldier at times, especially in winters. He said it was the shrapnel he got while on LOC, somehow the injury never fully healed. It didn’t stop him though, he hobbled just as fast as the rest of us walked, often faster. I asked him once, about the day it happened, and his face fell into an expression I’d never have associated with his features before. Under that exuberant personality was someone more vulnerable than I could have guessed. He couldn’t understand why? Now when he watches the news every evening and stretches the routine to midnight he always says, I have lived when so many better men have died, he couldn’t even speak the names of his gone friends in this carnage of the virus without bracing his face to stiffness. I never asked again. We talked about the town garden competition, about radio shows and cricket matches. He’d earned it. But I knew he had already decided to join the volunteers against the fight against the virus!
They say that the guns belong to soldiers, not civilians. But there is another way to look at it also, when society is in distress as it is now the soldier has to adopt and apply a different tactical template. That is what is required here big time. Those of us who have never been in the military don’t understand what it is like to serve in the military. You hate them or you admonish them, criticize them, hurl choicest of adjectives at them but the fact is that society in Jammu and Kashmir can do nothing. This virus has created yet another situation and it is a phenomenal one. These veterans of seriously bad situations always say, we who have seen war will never stop seeing it. And here is yet another situation when the Nation is calling and the bugle has been blown for the show time!
A few great words have come out of BJP Cabinet Ministers and one of them who really spoke emotionally was Nirmala Sitharaman ( the then defense minister, India) . This is what she said, ‘ let us not for a moment forget that it is in their(defense personnel) welfare, in their families welfare that we can ensure that the soldiers at the very toughest borders, challenging zones in which they are protecting this country remain absolutely assured that their interests are being taken care of. The resettlement and welfare of Ex-Servicemen (ESM) is of utmost importance and has a direct impact on the serving personnel in view of their dedicated services to the nation under most difficult and inhospitable environment and conditions. Majority of service personnel retire at an age where they have numerous unfinished responsibilities which necessitate their taking up a second occupation.’ These were splendid words indeed and now when the Nation is in terrible distress these men who have hung their boots and uniform have got the call to rise to the occasion!
I. Ex-servicemen join fight against Covid-19 crisis
As the nation continues to battle the Covid-19 crisis, ex-servicemen have also come forward to join the fight against the deadly virus.
*The initiative, coordinated by Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW) and Ministry of Defence (MoD), has seen thousands of the Ex-Servicemen (ESM) from Army, Navy and Air Force assisting the civil administration in various states to strengthening the collective fight against Covid-19.
The veterans have been contacted through the Kendriya Sainik Board and a network of 32 Rajya Sainik Boards at the state level along with 403 Zila Sainik Board all over the country.
Lauding the response from retired personnel of Army, Navy and Air Force as well as volunteer community service by the Ex-Servicemen association at a time when the entire nation is under lockdown, the MoD has highlighted some of the major contributions.
In Karnataka, Brig Ravi Munniswamy (Retd) is spearheading a team of 45 veteran bicycle riders in Bengaluru. They are providing medical and essential supplies to the elderly in the city who can reach out to them through a WhatsApp group. In addition to this, several Ex-Servicemen volunteers in Dharwad, Davanagere, Shivamogga, Hassan, Mysuru and Kodagu are helping in the distribution of food. In Andhra Pradesh, The ex-servicemen volunteers have joined hands with state police in the state ensuring that the gaps are plugged. Some of the Ex-Servicemen associations like Tadepalligudem, West Godavari district association and 28 Air Defence Regiment ESM organisation at Mangalagiri are distributing food and essential commodities among the poor. In Uttar Pradesh, Brig Ravi (Retd) said, ‘the veterans, assisted by Zila Sainik Boards in 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh, are helping the local administration in the monitoring of ration distribution, community surveillance and running of a community kitchen for the needy.’ As many as 6,592 ESM from Army Medical Corps have been put on standby for any contingency. In Punjab, as many as 4,200 ex-servicemen are present in every village of Punjab for data collection and community surveillance. In Chhattisgarh, a handful of the veterans have been deployed to provide assistance to State Police in Bilaspur, Janjgir and Korba. In North-East, Brig Narain Dutt Joshi, SM (Retd) is ready with 300 ESM volunteers to assist in 19 Districts of Assam. Whereas Col Gautam Kumar Rai (Retd) at Shillong has 79 volunteers ready to assist the civil administration. Brig JP Tiwari (Retd) from Tripura said the list of ESM volunteers has been shared with the State and district administration and they are on standby for any task assigned to them. In Jharkhand, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Brig Pathak (Retd) from Jharkhand, Col Rahul Yadav (Retd) from Haryana and Brig KB Chand (Retd) from Uttarakhand have also shared a list of ESM with administration in their respective states
Other than this the kids off the blocks from NCC have been roped in.
*The tasks envisaged for NCC cadets include, manning of helpline, call centres; distribution of relief materials, medicines, food and essential commodities, says a Ministry statement. Cadets will augment relief efforts and functioning of various agencies
*The National Cadet Corps (NCC) has issued guidelines for temporary employment of its cadets to augment relief efforts and functioning of various agencies involved in battling COVID-19 under Exercise NCC Yogdan, the Defence Ministry said.
The Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (ESW) too has taken an initiative to mobilize the services of Ex-Servicemen (ESM) community to assist the State and District administration, wherever required.
*According to the guidelines, cadets should not be employed in handling law and order situations or for active military duties or at hotspots. The Ministry said that only senior division volunteer cadets above 18 years of age will be employed and they should be employed in small cohesive groups of eight to 20 under the supervision of Permanent Instructor Staff or an associate NCC officer. For employment of volunteer cadets, the State government or the district administration had to send the requisition through State NCC Directorates.
II. Retired Policemen could be of immense help:
*As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing number of police officers and deputies have been exposed or tested positive for the coronavirus. Instead of relying on existing resources, gaps in personnel coverage could be filled by easing restrictions on the hiring of retired police officers. Using processes similar to those being implemented for doctors and nurses, the police could return thousands of retired cops to service quickly to fill critical needs.
Most, if not all, agencies have already redeployed investigators into field duties and worked on shift schedules that can survive short-term staffing needs. Some have even begun to incorporate a home-isolation schedule for sworn staff to limit exposure from one officer to another, and to ensure the department can continue to operate, if they lose 15 percent, 20 percent, or even 30 percent of their cops.
Should the pandemic endure, and if it spikes again in the future, how far can people be stretched before they aren’t capable of providing basic police services? One solution could be to follow the lead of states that have streamlined processes to allow retired healthcare workers to return to work.
There are hundreds to thousands of police retirees in every state. Most would probably love to contribute in meaningful ways to public safety.
If there were ways to make this happen, the number of cops could grow quickly in ways that could ease the burden on those who work to protect the public. Making that happen could require modifying hiring practices, recertifying officers and placing them in duties that full-time cops don’t see as hindering their work.
This is a fight and it can be won provided we fight it together. It has to be small steps at a time. The virus has had under its pump and is reluctant to let its grasp loosen. So the option is do not let it come to you. If it does trust me you are in goddamn serious trouble. More often than not it leaves you struggling with eyes turning sockets and tongue wobbling.
III. ESM, volunteers and AMC officials queue up to render their services in Rajasthan:
Ex-servicemen can work in a disciplined manner, and in this time of crisis, they should act as a strong bridge between the government and the public.
*The Rajasthan Governor also called upon the ex-servicemen to contribute to the COVID-19 awareness program so that the virus can be controlled.
Suggesting that district administrations can form task forces of ex-servicemen, he said they can assist in COVID-19 management and help people get timely treatment.
Special care should be taken to ensure that ex-servicemen and their family members get the benefits of welfare schemes even during the pandemic.
*The Governor also appealed to the public to take all necessary precautions to avoid the infection.
He said that in view of the coronavirus situation in the state, services of ex-servicemen, nurses, lab technicians and ex-servicemen of the army residing in the state can be taken to deal with this crisis.
The three services as well as other wings of the defense ministry have been extending support to various state governments and union territories in dealing with massive spike in coronavirus cases.
The Indian Air Force airlifted empty oxygen tankers and containers to various filling stations across the country to speed up the distribution of the much-needed medical oxygen in treating COVID-19 patients.
The IAF has also been transporting essential medicines as well as equipment required by the designated COVID-19 hospitals in various parts of the country.
The defence minister approved hiring of additional contractual staff in 51 medical facilities being run under the ex-servicemen contributory health scheme (ECHS) across the country.
*Last week, Singh had said that the armed forces and the defence ministry will leave no stone unturned in providing all possible assistance to the civil administrations in dealing with the pandemic.
The US, Germany, France, Britain, Australia, Singapore, Israel and several other countries as well as the World Health Organisation and the European Union have already announced urgent medical assistance to India to help it deal with the situation.
IV. In J&K the augmenting force arrives:
100 ESM and 27 Ex-AMC volunteered for COVID19 duty across Kashmir.
*These Kashmiri heroes have come to aid the civil medical infrastructure and once again serve the people. Volunteers have reported to their respective DCs and have been divided in teams of 10 each across the valley.
A total of 1412 ESM have volunteered to re-attire themselves as COVID19 warriors. They will be employed to augment District Hospital Manpower.
These Kashmiri heroes have volunteered to serve the Country at this time of need. Kashmir ADGPI – Indian Army Northern Command – Indian Army White Knight Corps100 ESM and 27 Ex-AMC volunteered for COVID19 duty across Kashmir.
So the veterans are right up there to fight the virus as it spreads deep into the rural areas where the health care facilities are absolutely negligible. The battle is indeed uphill, the climb is steep and the fight is against an enemy who cannot be seen or heard. The element of surprise is always with it and it has the capability to destroy any human created myth. I do not have to take you much long back when words were spoken which have proved disastrous now! In fact snowballed into an unfathomable fast falling asteroid. Asteroids can be guided by scientific technology but this virus so naturally programmed is beyond human thinking!
In warfare, real dominance is not measured in muscle. Nor is it always measured in Intelligence. But rather it is measured. In heart! But in this war, patience is the key in fact big time. He who helps you in your worst moment well deserves to be your best hero! These men have stepped in with nothing to gain but save mankind which is in huge peril. They have stepped into this with one aim, ‘you don’t need a medal to do what’s right. And we have stepped in to help our brethren in distress’!
(Agencies)
