When Bhubaneswar will get back to normal out of Lockdown, from a Hotspot to Lighthouse of COVID19, a big Question

Dr. Piyush Ranjan Rout

World Economic Forum reported India has the upper hand against COVID19 and is currently under 21-day lockdown, is fighting back against COVID-19 with a “cluster containment strategy” to contain the disease within a defined geographic area by early detection of cases, breaking the chain of transmission and thus preventing its spread. So do Odisha is among few states have emerged as the lighthouse of COVID19 in India due to their early actions.

Perhaps the big factor is India didn’t have much arrivals of Chinese Origin Chinese post spring festival like Italy, Spain, Canada, America etc do have seems a major factor that defines success & failure in dealing COVID19. However, nation could not took advantage of this scenario nor escaped Lockdown rather followed the methodology that most of the nation are implementing.

Similarly Odisha past experience handling super cyclone, cyclone Phailin & last year summer Cyclone Fani, always helped the state scripting a successful story be it Asian Athletics or World Cup Hockey or now COVID19. As preparedness is always Odisha's brand to the world due to activeness of politicians, administration, media all in same page standing tall to deal crisis.

The past experience of Odisha put the state ahead of others before first arrival of COVID19 patient. As state remains the front runner in setting up a regular press briefing to deal with rumours, the first state to introduce Lockdown and further extension of lockdown, set up exclusive facility for COVID19 patient from the beginning and set up state of the art makeshift COVID19 Hospital in state capitals to district into panchayat level, paid in advance to medical staffs along with insurance coverage and safety gears to provide them the confidence of being in front.

Earlier Odisha Govt. set up online registration facilities for foreign returns with cash incentives to remain self isolation, the limited number of international travellers in the state, state extended its social security programmes ahead of schedule as part of preparedness, govt now empowered leaders of local self government at par with district magistrate powers for dealing with COVID19 situation at the bottom level and top the peoples response was mature enough due to dealing with disasters might have rescued the state so far in flattening the curve.

The big question is will Temple City will go back to the situation where it use to enjoy lifestyle prior to March 15, 2020 and can function as a society of Socially Inclusive than of Social Distancing, may sound like a dream come true at this moment for millions living in this city.

But yes Government absolutely right trying to reopen Bhubaneswar on April 20 or on midnight of May 3rd sounds like miracle, doesn’t mean people will be going back to mall, markets, work and school, universities on May 4th, rather there is no going back to normal until there is proven medical therapy.

Second it’s the job of a Democratic governance to ensure city like Bhubaneswar must bounce back into normal. However, if benchmark of Bhubaneswar want to get back into pre-coronavirus lifestyle, then that might not ever happen over fortnight in the sense that the threat is very much active.

What is possible most likely is that with No Spiting, Having Mask, No Social Gathering, Maintaining Social Distancing, Being in Isolation, Bicycle based mobility and hopeful of appropriate testing with improved therapies that will be coming and the fact that one feel confident that over a period of time solutions are in pipeline that village, city, state, nation will never have to get back to where all are right now in Lockdown, then city would see a light of normal like Wuhan got after 76days strict Lockdown.

If voices of city properly interpreted then Bhubaneswar might get back to normal out of hotspot tag, mean something very different from what the city is passing through since lockdown with opening of few more essential services like opening of book shop, cycle repairing shop, automobile repairing shop, opening neighbourhood park not large parks, movement of people out of home in neighbourhood streets maintaining rules of the hour.

Perhaps Bhubaneswar must learn running a slow Marathon than sprint to maintain its status as the Lighthouse in COVID19 by flatening the curve, bouncing back the City.

(Dr. Rout an Urban Planner with Practitioner of Urban Management can be reached Twitter @piyushrout Views are Personal)