Former Tata Tea executive and Assam PCC vice-president Bolin Bordoloi has formally moved the state government with suggestions “for managing” the ongoing lockdown.
In separate letters to chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, as a “concerned citizen who wants to participate in the united struggle” to combat the coronavirus pandemic, Bordoloi articulated six measures.
None of the letters mentioned his former position in Tata Tea or his current designation in the Assam PCC.
Talking to The Telegraph, he said it is not about who he was and who he is but all about using his managerial experience to help contribute in any way possible.
Bordoloi said he would also write to the government on how to tackle the problems of the tea industry because of the lockdown.
Appreciating the “efforts” of the state administration and machinery for going “beyond the call of duty” to ensure normalcy, Bordoloi made the following suggestions in his letters:
⚫ Need of the hour is a social security net for the daily wage earners like some kind of assured income. A blanket scheme should be thought out for all those below the poverty line.
⚫ The government should instruct civic authorities to sanitise the interior areas and bylanes on a regular basis Those not abiding should be fined.
⚫ For the working class, a system of home delivery may be worked out by limiting purchase of essential goods by capping it according to the size of family to prevent hoarding and shortage.
⚫ The government must communicate more frequently with the public to sensitise them about the issue. This will enable them to develop a scientific temper, understand the problem better and discard superstition and myths. This includes taking extra care of the elderly population and encouraging children to stay home and pursue indoor hobbies.
⚫ The government should also issue strict notification to pharmacies not to sell any drugs/medicines like hydroxychloroquine without prescription except for general medicines.
⚫ Post lockdown, we must be equally careful and gradually start activities phase by phase or else it will put enormous stress on the resources, supply chain and on the civil administration. Movement must be restricted within a locality by working out a mechanism to avoid intermingling of citizens immediately. In order to achieve that, movement of persons can be allowed, but private vehicles should not be allowed to ply unless it is an emergency/essential duty, for at least a month.