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Business News/ News / India/  Maharashtra will get back to business but now safety is priority: Anil Deshmukh
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Maharashtra will get back to business but now safety is priority: Anil Deshmukh

Migrant labourers are being held back for their own safety and the safety of their loved ones back home so that they don't carry infection back to their homes and villages. When conditions stabilise from a public-health point of view and train services resume people will be able to travel

A file photo of Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh Premium
A file photo of Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh

Maharashtra today is unarguably the worst affected state in India with over 8,000 covid-19 cases. This has increased the state government’s task manifold. The Maharashtra government is not only responsible for housing the largest number of migrant workers but has also managed to keep the state ahead in terms of rate and absolute number of covid-19 tests. In an interview with Mint, Maharashtra’s Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, who has been vocal about issues related to covid-19, talks about the state's progress in reducing the rate of spread of covid-19 infection, which has started bearing results. Maharashtra will get back to normalcy for trade and business but right now safety is a priority, said Deshmukh.

What is the government doing to deal with the demands of migrants to go back to their home states? What steps are being taken to take care of the safety and security of jobless migrants and the state's own citizens who are jobless now?

Even before the lockdown was declared, the state made its commitment to care for the migrant labour stuck in various parts of the state with 4,878 relief camps created to provide them with food and shelter. Migrant labourers are being held back for their own safety and the safety of their loved ones back home so that they don't carry infection back to their homes and villages. When conditions stabilise from a public-health point of view and train services resume people will be able to travel. But for that date not to be pushed further away, people should cooperate now.

Tablighi Jamaat members' entry and dispersal in Maharashtra is seen as the main reason for the excessive spread of the virus and Maharashtra's rising covid-19 cases. Has the government found all the Jamaat members?

Since you brought up Tablighi Jamaat, and some people really like chronologies, let's look at that. Maharashtra's home department prevented a congregation similar to one held in Delhi's Nizamuddin area, which went on to become a hotspot for covid-19's spread across India. Permission for the two-day religious event (50,000 strong turn-out expected from across India and the world) planned at Vasai, outside Mumbai - which would have happened before the Delhi one - was cancelled on March 6 itself. Why didn't the Delhi Police show such farsightedness and quicker reflexes like we did? The Delhi congregation couldn't have happened without intelligence about the same, especially considering so many foreign nationals were coming. It would've helped avert both the spread of infection and the subsequent massive humanitarian fallout that followed. And the media which diligently keeps asking how Maharashtra is dealing with the Delhi congregation attendees goes quiet while questioning why things came to this pass when the first corona case was detected in the end of January itself.

Having said that we were able to track nearly 1,400 who attended the congregation immediately and send them into quarantine. As many as 156 foreigners who attended the Delhi congregation have been charged under the Foreigner’s Act, Section 14 B and IPC Sections 188, 269 & 270. and 15 cases have been registered in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Amravati, Nanded, Nagpur, Pune, Ahmednagar, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli. All these foreigners had come to India on a tourist visa and violated visa stipulations to attend the congregation at Nizamuddin, Delhi. This includes : 37 Indonesians, 19 Kyrgyzstanis, 18 Myanmarese, 13 Bangladeshis, 11 Tanzanians, 10 Filipinos, nine each from Ivory Coast and Kazakhstan, eight Malaysians, six Togolese, five Djiboutians, four Bruneians, two Russians and one each from South Africa, Iran, Benin, Ghana and the US. All the 156 have been sent into institutionalised quarantine.

Despite the lockdown, how did DHFL's promoters Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan who have cases against them travel as VVIPs? Are the rules not same for all? What action is planned against the Wadhawans?

The travel ban breach was treated as one. Soon after it emerged on April 9, that 23 members of the Wadhawan family reached Mahabaleshwar from Khandala on a pass issued by Amitabh Gupta, Principal Secretary (Special) of the home department, Gupta was immediately sent on compulsory leave. The inquiry is complete and we are awaiting the detailed report on the same. The Wadhwans were detained in institutional quarantine on a police watch. Local police reached out to both central agencies under the Union Government - CBI and the ED - on 17th April, a whole five days before their quarantine got over. The CBI finally responded nine days later and both the brothers Kapil and Dhiraj Wadhwan's custody was handed over to them. An escort was also provided for the CBI team to take them to Mumbai. The other members are still being held in quarantine.

Despite the extension of the lockdown, thousands of migrant labourers gathered to protest at Bandra, leading to a lathicharge. What led to the flow of such wrong information and public unrest?

It has already been established that a rumour was floated about the trains resuming and people gathered to find out. Many were from nearby localities. It did not help that some sections of the media overplayed their hand and made an internal railways communique exploring logistics as the actual starting of trains. The sudden unplanned announcement of the lockdown came from the Centre, the Railways is not a state subject, but again the media is not asking the Centre questions. The crowds were dispersed immediately and the situation brought under control but some elements in the media didn't stop giving a communal colour even to this episode.

How and when do you see the lockdown being lifted in the state?

This will obviously be considered in detail by a high-level committee headed by the Maharashtra CM. We want to ensure the transition is smooth and people are not inconvenienced. Citizens should look out for government instructions and adhere to these in their own and the larger collective interest.

Since the number of positive cases is increasing fast in Maharashtra, are special measures being considered? What are the directives to the police department to help prevent further contagion?

The measures - special or otherwise - are being communicated to people adequately by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, health minister Rajesh Tope, me and others in the government. These are communicated through all legacy and social media. The police have an ancillary role and work in tandem with public health authorities. They enforce a complete ban on any movement as and when needed to contain contagion in specific neighbourhoods or general lockdown and social distancing even while maintaining law and order.

Many businesses can't restart as labour/workers/helpers/managers have either migrated back to their villages or refuse to come to work due fearing a covid-19 contagion. How is the government looking at this issue?

We'll eventually work towards facilitating normalcy for trade and business. Right now safety is a priority. We want media to also highlight how nearly 850 people have also recovered in Maharashtra. We're working at reducing the rate of spread of infection and this is beginning to bear results. Each flashpoint which bucks this trend is a valuable lesson on the path ahead. World over there aren't any public health templates on handling this issue. You have to also factor in our own sociocultural and socioeconomic milieu.

How is the police dealing with the movement of people and essential goods and services?

Police have been instructed to ensure essential goods supplies and services are not affected. As far as the movement of people is concerned, we're working on this case by case, prioritising medical emergencies, funerals, etc. To date, more than 2.29 lakh passes have been issued to people. This includes people who work on essential services.

What steps are being planned by the state government to reopen borders for the movement of people and goods from one district to another and from Maharashtra to other states and vice versa?

The intra and inter-state restrictions can only be eased after contagion is brought down. I am sure the Centre will be able to answer the question on interstate travel better.

What steps are being planned by the government to ensure mob-lynching incidents like the one in Palghar do not repeat?

What happened in Palghar should sadden every human being. Rumours led to the attack and long before the Opposition could even raise it, 101 people were arrested by the police. What was abominable was the efforts by some politicians and political parties at deliberately stoking communal fires over the issue when there was not even a shred of this at all. Some sections of the media which deliberately try to fan such propaganda need to introspect if this is the best they can do even when the country is in the grip of its worst public health crisis ever!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anirudh Laskar
Anirudh reports on significant corporate matters including large mergers and acquisitions, India's emerging e-commerce sector and regulatory issues in the corporate and financial services industry. Over the past 17 years, he has covered many beats including banking, NBFCs, aviation, automobile, insurance, markets, SEBI, IRDAI, mutual funds, investment banking, private equity, deals, and conglomerates.
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Published: 27 Apr 2020, 04:17 PM IST
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