Bhubaneswar: Several eminent people from different walks of life Sunday deliberated on the issue of Covid-19 pandemic, right policies and approaches to contain it and the way forward amid the threat of more waves of the pandemic.
The discussions were undertaken in a brainstorming session organised by Yuva Chetna in virtual mode. The session witnessed participation from people involved in human rights, politics, social service and others.
Justice PC Pant, Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), expressed concerns on the impact of pandemic. “The pandemic hit the country hard. I too lost my brother in the pandemic. But I would like to thank healthcare workers who are working continuously to manage the pandemic to the best of their abilities. We at NHRC also tried our best to safeguard the rights of the people amid the pandemic,” Justice Pant said.
Former Lok Sabha MP and Editor of Orissa POST and Dharitri, Tathagata Satpathy, talked about the role of different stakeholders in managing the pandemic. “The people took the first wave very seriously but as soon as the Prime Minister and Union Health Minister declared that they had defeated Covid, people also got a bit relaxed,” he said. He also added, “The time is ripe now for the government to analyse what went wrong in managing the pandemic and how it could be improved. However the citizens and others should also understand their role in managing the pandemic instead of blaming the politicians and governments.”
Spiritual leader Swami Abhishek Brahmachari said that during the pandemic, everyone needed to move forward with a spirit of mutual cooperation. “There should be no barrier between the government and the public. It requires self-confidence and patience to manage the pandemic well,” he said.
Presiding over the discussion, national convener of Yuva Chetna, Rohit Kumar Singh, said that through the webinar, attempts were made to create more awareness on various issue of Covid-19. Singh claimed that besides the webinar and discussions, he and his organisation had been extending a helping hand to the people by providing food, masks, medicines and other essential goods during the pandemic.
The event also saw participation from several doctors and other experts from different premier institutions of the country.
