On Sunday, January 2, 2020, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal announced the latest Covid-19 curbs in the state. The long list of restrictions includes:
- All schools, colleges, universities, spas, salons, beauty parlours, swimming pools, zoos, and entertainment parks will remain closed in West Bengal from Monday, January 3, 2022.
- All government and private offices will operate at 50 per cent capacity; all administrative meetings will henceforth ve conducted via virtual mode.
- Local trains in West Bengal will run with 50 per cent capacity till 7 in the evening. No local trains will be allowed on tracks post- 7 pm. All long-distance trains, however, will continue running as they are.
- All tourist places in West Bengal shall remain closed from January 3, Monday.
- Flights to Kolkata from Delhi and Mumbai will only be allowed on two days of the week – Monday and Friday.
- All religious, cultural, and social gatherings in the state will have to ensure that they only allow 50 people at the most.
- Shopping malls and market complexes may function with a restricted entry of people by not exceeding 50 per cent of the capacity at a time and up to 10 pm.
- Restaurants and bars may operate with 50 per cent of the capacity at a time and up to 10 pm. The same restrictions and timings hold true for cinema halls and theatres.
- Meetings and conferences shall be allowed with a maximum of 200 people at a time or 50 per cent seating capacity of the hall, whichever is lower.
- No more than 50 persons shall be allowed for marriage-related ceremonies.
- No more than 20 persons shall be allowed for funeral/burial services and last rites
- Kolkata Metro services shall operate with 50 per cent seating capacity as per usual operational time.
- The movement of people and vehicles and public gatherings of any kind shall be prohibited between 10 pm to 5 am. Only essential and emergency services shall be permitted.
Moreover, following in the footsteps of states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, Mamata Banerjee has also imposed a 10 pm to 5 am night curfew, bringing the state into a semi-lockdown situation owing to the sudden spike in the Covid cases in the state in the last festive week.
The West Bengal CM has suddenly risen to the worrisome scenario that the state has found itself in, post the Christmas and news year celebration week. Though we’d like to assume the Chief Minister of West Bengal sincerely wishes to assist her people in overcoming this looming threat, she may have closed the stable door after the horse bolted.
Kolkata’s Christmas frenzy amid Covid scare
West Bengal’s capital city, Kolkata appears to be reverting to the condition where practically everyone had a family member, friend, or acquaintance infected with COVID-19 once again – and pretty suddenly. And, many see the Christmas celebrations on Park Street as having contributed to the sudden spurt of Covid infections in the city.
While many other states had imposed additional restrictions for Christmas and New Year celebrations in India amid the Omicron scare, West Bengal CM had relaxed the night curfew (11 pm – 5 am) from December 24, 2021, to January 1, 2022, in view of Christmas and New Year celebrations. Thousands of people in Kolkata were seen crowding public places to celebrate Christmas on December 25, Saturday with few wearing masks and even fewer showing any caution.
Social media had been rife with videos and images from Kolkata’s iconic Park Street where large crowds were seen surging past the street.
Is international media blaming Kolkata’s Park Street Christmas celebration for 6,153 new Covid cases reported in West Bengal? pic.twitter.com/b3Gn35IZ6R
— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) January 3, 2022
Thousands of People welcomed Omicron Corona 3rd Wave by gathering at Park Street, Kolkata to celebrate Christmas #kolkata #Omicron #COVIDIOTS pic.twitter.com/nGrl4mj4CC
— Rosy (@rose_k01) December 25, 2021
Thousands of people travelled to several tourist spots in the city and elsewhere on Christmas Day, in addition to Park Street. Since the morning, large groups have been seen without masks at the city’s favourite locations such as Alipore Zoo, Eco Park, Victoria Memorial, Millennium Park, and Indian Museum.
Remarking on the troublesome condition the state has pushed itself in, Dr Punyabrata Gun of WBDF opined that the “people not maintaining COVID-appropriate behaviour and the government not implementing restrictions have resulted in the spike.”
Covid cases in West Bengal see a 10 times spike during Christmas week
According to the data available, the city reported 204 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, December 27 but the number of such cases shot up to 1954 on Friday, December 31, almost 10 times in five days.
Meanwhile, in the last 24-hours, as many as 6,153 more people tested positive for Covid-19 across West Bengal and of the total Kolkata alone accounted for 3,194 cases.
Mismanagement of the Covid pandemic in West Bengal
The situation in which West Bengal is in at the moment is a genuine cause of concern but the people here are not completely oblivious to it. When the second wave of Covid-19 surged in India, several states had imposed a strict lockdown, or put restrictions against gatherings to curb the growing number of cases. However, as the festival of Eid had approached, covid appropriate norms went for a toss in several cities as people thronged markets for festival shopping, and West Bengal was also one of the top contenders.
Besides, one should not forget, how, during the first wave of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, the Mamata Banerjee government had been heavily criticised for grossly mismanaging the crisis. In fact, in May 2020, one Kabir Shankar Bose had filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court expressing grievances regarding the alleged mismanagement of the Wuhan Coronavirus crisis by the West Bengal government.
From under-reporting of the actual number of Wuhan Coronavirus cases in the state to discreetly disposing of bodies of coronavirus victims across Bengal to not sending enough samples for COVID19 testing, the Mamata Banerjee-led government had been accused of covering up the extent of the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus in the state by various quarters.
In this instance, almost every state, including Delhi, had imposed strict restrictions on Christmas and New Year celebrations. Mamata Banerjee, however, refused to impose restrictions and let crowds gather unhindered. Now, when the crowding has already been done and the risk of Omicron infection is on the rise, Banerjee has imposed restrictions to convince people that she is taking the COVID threat seriously and is attempting to give the people of Bengal a hint of governance. It would certainly appear as though Mamata Banerjee is trying to close the door of the stable while the horse has already bolted given that the large gatherings would have already put several thousand people at risk for Omicron infection.
