RPF salutes, stresses collective effort to control COVID-II

Contd from Sep 25 issue
IMPHAL, Sep 26: Before launching any mass movement, one must have clear understanding of the issue at hand and all related matters, and one must also be fully prepared if the movement much achieve its objective or at least move forward. This would not only help in overcoming all contingencies and exigencies that may surface in the course of the movement but also ensure that vanguards of the movement receive support of the people. Otherwise even a minor setback may derail the movement and push its vanguards who are working selflessly for the cause of the Nation into social oblivion.  Moreover, any movement launched without understanding the core issue may prove to be disastrous in the long run, continued the RPF president’s statement.
It is a common knowledge that most of the commentaries and analyses published in newspapers and broadcast through electronic media based in mainland India are either fabricated or based on their own assumptions. Some commentators and analysts, being spokespersons of the Government of India, have been consistently circulating volumes of false propaganda to discredit the legitimate revolutionary movement of Manipur and sow seeds of discord among different communities. For all these reasons, it is advisable for all the people, particularly CSOs and student bodies, to study in advance all civil movements together with experts/intellectuals and march collectively on the right path.
When the COVID-19 per day infection rate in India has exceeded the total infections recorded in China since the outbreak of the virus till date, the Government of India, citing high recovery rate and low fatality rate, is claiming that it is successfully tackling the pandemic. If the Government and people of Manipur, influenced by such misleading claims, show any laxity in tackling the COVID-19, the situation may further aggravate in the direction of Herd Immunity and it may prove to be quite disastrous for a small Nation like Manipur.
“Even if the recovery rate is high, but the recovered patients may develop post COVID-19 syndrome (Long Haulers), so we ought to focus on controlling community transmission as all daily activities will never regain normalcy as long as there is transmission of coronavirus at community level or otherwise”, it said.
China’s Wuhan where the deadly virus surfaced for the first time has already returned to normalcy because Chinese people have effectively controlled any further transmission of the virus. Manipur, being backward in most aspects of development, a very grave situation may emerge in the society if the COVID-19 pandemic lingers longer in the State and such a grave situation may produce serious repercussions in future, said the outfit  adding, “So we must all concentrate on controlling the virus.”
At the same time, there are many areas where the government must frame concrete policies and programs and work together with the people in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Augmentation of health care facilities, requisition of more health workers, creation of conducive atmosphere for education, restoration of art & culture and sports activities to normalcy, initiation of welfare schemes for workers and peasants, introduction of effective mechanism to check criminal activities, promotion of trade and commerce (including cross-border trade) etc are some areas where the Government and the public must work together while battling the COVID-19 pandemic, said the outfit.
The Government must introduce new policies which can give jobs to the maximum number of Manipuri people who have returned from different parts of India, facilitate return of non-Manipuris to their native States and hand over the jobs they thus vacated to local people, it suggested.
It is of paramount importance for the Government to formulate a visionary and effective policy to make Manipur self-reliant in production of food grains even if it is dependent on imports for other requirements, and the people must take pro-active roles in this endeavour.  
“Given the possibility of scarcity of food in future on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to cultivate a habit of frugality by avoiding any form of prodigality. We must avoid any form of wastage of food and revive our tradition of not leaving any food on our plates. Let us all share our responsibilities to realize the idea of making Manipur self-reliant in food grain production and transform the State into a prosperous Nation,” the statement concluded.