ALTHOUGH KERALA’S HANDLING OF THE coronavirus crisis continues to receive all-round praise, the State is on edge as it enters a tricky phase in its containment efforts, with the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions going hand in hand with the arrival of a large number of Keralites from COVID-19 hotspots abroad and from other States. There is another issue that nags the State in equal measure. This is the uncertain but huge impact of the pandemic and the lockdown on the local economy, which is yet to fully recover from a series of natural calamities: the Okhi cyclone in 2017 and the devastating floods in 2018 and 2019.
The State had held itself up bravely against these back-to-back calamities, but recovery was understandably still an ongoing process even as reports of the possibility of truant rains were once again clouding the horizon. Yet another worrying monsoon season is already round the corner.
According to State Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac, Kerala will experience a revenue loss of nearly Rs.35,000 crore this year. As Frontline had reported earlier, in the State Planning Board’s assessment, Kerala suffered a loss of Rs.29,000 crore as a result of the nationwide lockdown from March 24 to May 3.
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How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
