2020; a year of challenges

As we approach the close of calendar year 2020, it is as always, a time to look at the year that was. The year has been an extraordinary one. The coronavirus pandemic occupied most of the media space and the bulk of people’s mindshare during the year. The pandemic has had big impact on economies of nations, mostly the urban and industrial sectors. Thankfully the rural economy has been much less affected with agricultural activity remaining resilient and farm output robust.
Severe lockdowns placed many restrictions on citizens’ movement. Inter-city, inter-district and inter-state movement of citizens was strictly regulated or disallowed. All businesses, except those catering to the grocery, vegetable, and medical needs of residents, remained closed. Malls, multiplexes, schools, colleges, religious places remained shut, some still so. In short, life in our cities became very different from what we were used to. With offices remaining shut, ‘Work from Home’ or WFM became the new normal. Schools and colleges employed new teaching tools while embracing the ‘online’ mode.
Cities and local governments faced possibly the most challenging time in recent years. They had to control and monitor the spread of the virus with the already stretched local healthcare infrastructure – to undertake testing, tracing, quarantine, and care for the affected. Temporary quarantine and care facilities were set up with all the infrastructure and facilities including food and medicines, trained medical and para medical personnel, and security. Each large city needed several of these make shift ‘COVID hospitals’. Among the biggest challenges they faced was the resource crunch. On the one hand was the huge, unbudgeted expense of the COVID related work; and on the other, the sharply reduced incomes on account of depressed business activity. A detailed understanding of the impact on local body finances will emerge in the coming weeks and months. Admirably however, normal city services like water supply, waste collection and disposal, and city upkeep remained on track and near normal. Unhindered supply of essentials was also ensured. Our local bodies deserve praise on this count.
One disappointment during the COVID times is that many of the important urban programmes which were underway lost momentum with the onset of the pandemic. With all focus on managing the coronavirus, other programmes took a backseat. One such area was waste reduction, recycling, etc. The plastic ban implementation suffered and use of plastic increased. Fearing the coronavirus infection, citizens turned away from reusable bags, plates, spoons, forks and glasses, towards disposable plastic or paper ones. Add to this the mountains of waste generated by disposed/used masks, gloves and other protective equipment. It could be a long time before we get back on the ‘less plastic’ path. Another area is water conservation. While awareness building had gained some traction at the national level, with the onset of the pandemic, progress has been limited. Given the precarious water situation in many of our cities, we need urgent measures to conserve, reuse and recycle this precious resource. We must take up these programmes again in right earnest.
Now, with a safe and effective vaccine in sight, a new set of challenges could arise. Our cities need to once again come up with effective programmes to store, transport, and administer the vaccine to large populations effectively and equitably so we can look forward to a safer future.
On this note, I wish our readers and well-wishers a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.