A member of the European Parliament has said that at a time when coronavirus has terrorized the governments of the most developed countries, the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir has effectively controlled the COVID-19 spread and brought the daily life in the region to normal.
Citing an example of effective curbing of deadly viral disease, Ryszard Czarnecki, a member of the European Parliament from Poland, said in a report published in the EU Chronicle that Jammu and Kashmir has offered a roadmap to recovery to the world.
“Jammu & Kashmir’s Srinagar was included among the tiny list of 16 districts in India, which were asked to share best practices about controlling coronavirus spread with 700 districts in the country. Jammu and Kashmir that is subjected to highly maligned campaign by neighboring Pakistan and China has seen well-oiled coordination between the local governments and people during the fight against COVID-19. Now the region known for its world-famous scenic splendour, snow-capped mountains, exquisite monuments, and local handicrafts is getting back to its glorious days and to welcome tourists,” Czarnecki wrote.
“Many states in India, as well as other regions in the world, were caught off guard when coronavirus started spreading fast. However, the Jammu and Kashmir administration was ready with all its preparedness to take on novel coronavirus”, he added.
The Parliament further said that even though India enforced nationwide lockdown from the last week of March but Jammu and Kashmir began operations in the first week of March itself.
“J&K had set up 24-hour control room that played crucial role in tracing COVID-19 positive patients and as well as those who came in contact with the infected and confining them. Four different apps were used for quarantine management, symptom tracking, geo-fencing tracking and home-to-home surveillance tracking”, it said.
The European Parliament also observed that the Indian Army and services of the local administration played a huge role in providing humanitarian services to those who were stranded and immobilized during the lockdown.
“A number of helplines were also launched to help people with getting essential services with the minimum footprint possible. Government staff reached out to people in need of food, medicine, grocery and other important stuff that was needed for day-to-day life”, Czarnecki said.
“The growth of COVID-19 in Jammu & Kashmir has been very slow and even remained sluggish in April, May and June. There was exception in the beginning of June when the number of new cases has spiked. However, the government managed to bring it low in no time,” he noted in the report.