The dreaded cyclone Amphan hit the shores of Bay of Bengal earlier this week on Tuesday leading to massive devastation in the state of Kolkata and Orissa. The cyclone was considered to be a super cyclone initially leading to state governments and National Disaster Relief Force deploying rescue teams and forces. Despite the measures taken, the cyclone wreaked havoc - killing 86 people, destroying houses, and causing irreparable damage to the Sunderban delta. About 1 lakh hectare of cropland and over 44.5 lakh people were said to be affected in Orissa. However, as days go by, West Bengal seems to be the worst hit by the cyclone. Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Mamta Banerjee had done an aerial survey of these areas on Friday to estimate the damage, and the central government declared a relief fund of Rs.1000 crore for West Bengal and Rs.500 crore for Orissa to restore and bring normalcy to these places. The monetary relief doesn’t prove to be of much help as people still majorly suffer in parts of Bengal.
The cyclone majorly hampered the city's flow as electricity and water were completely cut off from various households that consequently sought help from Kolkata’s civic and electric administration. The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC) however, failed to respond to the grieving city adequately and in response protests erupted in several districts against the mismanagement and ill-preparedness of the Mamta Banerjee led state government. The relief operations were already complicated by the shortage of workers owing to lockdown, but as water continued to flood in houses that hadn’t seen electricity or clean drinking supply in days, the plight and reaction of these people seemed justified. Added to this, concern was raised for the demolished flora and fauna which not only supported Sunderban’s ecosystem but also the city. The mangrove forests, which were majorly destroyed, are essential for Sunderban’s survival. With rising sea levels threatening their destruction, experts are gravely concerned by the aftermath of the cyclone. Not only that, the majority of the havoc that struck the city was due to uprooted trees which brought forth the major flaws in the urban planning of the city. With 14 districts still severely facing losses and being nowhere close to recovery, it isn’t unreasonable to ask if West Bengal’s deplorable situation is due to the complexity posed by the pandemic or a reaction to poor management and preparedness by the administration.
While it was announced this week that domestic travel from airlines will resume from May 25th, several new guidelines have been issued a day before advising travelers to prevent the spread of the disease including the usage of the ‘arogya setu’ app. The guidelines encompass quarantine protocols for all modes of travel and should be followed by all modes of transportation. Additionally, states will be allowed to add to the quarantine protocols based on their assessment of the situation. Mandatory thermal scanning and flight boarding allowance for only asymptotic travelers were among the few issued. However, the West Bengal government continues to ask the center to postpone domestic flights due to the disaster, while as COVID-19 cases continue to multiply in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackrey requested for more time from the Civil Aviation Ministry.
While travel continues to be debated in India, in a heartbreaking turn of events, Pakistan saw its worst airline disaster since 2012 last Friday. Pakistan had resumed its domestic flight operations last week as people wanted to travel due to Eid-Al-Fitr holiday. The flight PK 8303, which was run by Pakistan's International Corp, saw a regular departure from Lahore and was scheduled to reach Karachi at 2:45 pm local time. Moments before its landing, the flight crashed in a nearby residential settlement killing 97 of the 99 people who were on onboard. The two victims who survived the crash faced serious injuries and do not recollect much of the horrible incident. From what is known, it seems that both the engines were cut off which led to an emergency landing of the craft. None of the people who were present at the crash site suffered serious injuries and have been relocated due to the severe loss of infrastructure that followed the incident. However, as numerous victims were brought to an already choked healthcare system owing to the pandemic, many lay unidentified in the hospitals as their relatives still roam questioning their whereabouts. Bodies which were recovered from the site show people wearing oxygen masks indicating that an emergency landing had been declared. The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder has been recovered, but not much has been released to the public yet. According to data from Aviation Safety Network, the PIA flights have seen 51 safety-related crashes since their inception in 1946 and this was the second incident in the last two years. The board of PIA, however, has promised a probe to provide more clarity behind the incident. The only certainty for now is the fear and panic felt by the people.
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