You Swine!

That would be the normal retort if we knew which pig to blame for the flu. As cities start to panic and people start to believe anything they hear, the government is starting to make some knee-jerk decisions. Take Pune, for example, where the outbreak seems to be the worst.

As of Tuesday morning, Pune had reported five H1N1 deaths of the total eight in India in addition to over 300 other confirmed cases. While this hasn't come about overnight, it is a typically lazy response to what now seems like a pandemic.

So what one saw on the streets of Pune this morning was a Sunday-like though eerie silence. There was a heaviness in the air, and one could really gauge what was being thought. As everyone adorned the "bandit queen" look, the ridiculousness of the entire situation was overwhelming. Despite repeated reports that the masks are to be used for just a day and not all masks are useful, people continued to buy them en masse. According to a news report, almost 2,50,000 were sold across the city on Monday! Good business!

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The solutions by the powers that be? One of the first things that the authorities have done is stay away. Pune's two 'powerful and influential' ministers - Suresh Kalmadi (Congress I) and Ajit Pawar (NCP) - have been conspicuously absent. Except for Mr Kalmadi's face on posters welcoming Digvijay Singh to Pune, the city hasn't heard so much as a peep out of him. And Mr. Pawar responded to a newspaper report about his absence by making some nonsensical statement. Ignore, please. Then, remotely, they have administered the shutdown to the city. For those who aren't aware, all schools, colleges, malls and movie halls are to remain closed for three to seven days starting Tuesday. When some people had asked for such an action about a week ago, the idea had been ridiculed.

It is one thing to show such solidarity and strength (of leaving schools, etc, open) in the face of, let's say, terrorism. But in the face of a virus? Just plain stupid. Perhaps some lives that were and will be lost might have been saved. The number of deaths that is sure to rise in the coming days can still be brought down if only the government opens up the testing and treatment to more private hospitals. At present, only eight private hospitals in addition to four government hospitals can administer treatment and test for H1N1.

As the situation remains grim, there seems to be movement in the right direction finally to contain any further spread. Now we need to ensure that those affected have easy access to treatment and are quarantined. In the meantime, the deserted city roads come as an awkward reminder of the grim reality and bring along fears of what currently threatens us.

Aditya Kuber is the head of a media company and a writer and photographer in his free time. Based in Pune, he blogs at http://scribbler.in.