Let not history repeat

Immediately after lockdown was announced, millions of migrant workers rushed back to their home towns, often riding on roofs of interstate buses

Many ( including old – children – sick – pregnant ) walked hundreds of miles without food and slept on footpaths or open fields

May be that announcement of lockdown was so urgent that the authorities had no time to anticipate this exodus and prepare / publicize in advance, a plan to avoid this

But 16 days of lockdown are over and there is a strong possibility that the lifting will be gradual / phased out over a few weeks . We have still 5 days left to ask ( and answer ) :

“ On 14^th April , how to prevent a mad rush / an anarchy ? How exactly to implement a gradual re-opening ? What public places shall open first > next > next > next ?

And having decided WHO shall open WHEN , how to inform the owners of these public places and the citizen  ?

And WHAT LOGIC should be followed while deciding this RE-OPENING SCHEDULE ? “

Following is my suggestion for that logic :

Let us look at each PUBLIC PLACE / ESTABLISHMENT and ask :

“ In which of the following broad categories , does an establishment fall ? “

[ A ] …….. ESSENTIAL

                 Required to open NOW, for survival of citizen ( especially , poor people )

[ B ] ……. NECESSARY

                 Whose staying CLOSED beyond a few weeks, will cause hardships

[ C ] …….. DESIRABLE

                 Selling goods / services which increase comfort / well-being

[ D ]  ……. SHOW-OFF

                 Items which have little / none “ Utilitarian Value “ and meant for “                     Pride of Possession “ / “ Ego Satisfaction “ etc

                 

 Using above-mentioned LOGIC / CRITERIA , I suggest following RE-OPENING SCHEDULE .

This is neither a comprehensive nor an infallible list. Not etched in stone !

My only purpose is to get the authorities concerned ( and millions of lady home-makers ) to say :

Hey ! This is wrong . Here is a better schedule

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                                             RE-OPENING  SCHEDULE

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Srl No	Type of Establishment / Service	Essential 15 APRIL	NECESSARY 15 MAY	DESIRABLE 15 JUNE	SHOW-OFF 15 JULY
1	Ration Shop	✔
2	Medical Store	✔
3	Veg Vendors ( Footpath )	✔
4	Milk Shops	✔
5	Kirana Shops	✔
6	Bank Branches	✔
7	News Printing Press	✔
8	Pharma Factories	✔
9	Medical Eqpt Factories	✔
10	Mobile Service Providers	✔
11	Internet Service Providers	✔
12	Domestic Servants	✔
13	Barber Shops		✔
14	Bldg Material Shops		✔
15	Computer / Net eqpt shops		✔
16	Road-side Food Vendors		✔
17	Footpath Hawkers		✔
18	Pan-Bidi Gallas		✔
19	Repair Shops		✔
20	City Public Transport		✔
21	Offices		✔
22	Processed Food Factories		✔
23	Paper factories		✔
24	Refineries		✔
25	Chemical Factories		✔
26	Cement Factories		✔
27	Mobile Phone Factories		✔
28	Cloth Shops			✔
29	Garment Shops			✔
30	Tailoring Shops			✔
31	Stationary Shops			✔
32	Apparel Factories			✔
33	FMCG Factories			✔
34	Private Vehicles			✔
35	Auto Garages			✔
36	Petrol Pumps			✔
37	Domestic Flights			✔
38	Auto Factories			✔
39	Gift Item Shops				✔
40	Luxury Item Shops				✔
41	Jewellery Shops				✔
42	Perfume Shops				✔
43	Furniture Shops				✔
44	Electronic Goods Shops				✔
45	Auto Sales Dealers				✔
46	Malls				✔
47	International Flights				✔
48	Religious Places				✔
49	Social Function Halls				✔
50	Domestic Appliance Factories				✔
51	Cinema Halls				✔

Dear Shri Narendrabhai,

You may want to forward this RE-OPENING SCHEDULE to all the State Chief Ministers , so that they ( and their concerned officers ) may prepare and submit their COUNTER PROPOSALS , which may be debated in your online Video-Conference tomorrow , in order to reach a CONSENSUS

It is vital that , on 14^th there is no confusion / chaos / breakdown of Law-and-Order situation , with the States issuing contradictory instructions

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  10 April 2020

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hcp@RecruitGuru.com