WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2024
This is the first major pandemic faced by this generation and caught countries across the world off guard. Most people feared the worst for India particularly since it has the second largest population in the world.
“However, I must commend both the Central as well as the State Governments for the way they were able to control the spread of the pandemic by taking strict and effective and all necessary steps to combat the challenges and threats posed by this invisible pandemic. This is the not the first and last pandemic that we are facing and hence it is important to document all these efforts and create some kind of a SOP for future reference so that our response to such situations is precise and quick and causes least amount of disruption,” said the president of the Goa Chambers of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Manoj Caculo.
He further added that we must all learn from this experience and put in place a system whereby the safety and security, particularly of their outstation staff, is ensured and they get a feeling of belonging and being wanted.
“They say you can’t see a rainbow without enduring a little rain. The pandemic and all that we have endured in the last one year has also left us with some positives. Where a negative impact was observed for the economy and human life, the measures taken to control the spread of the virus and the slowdown of economic activities have significant positive impact on the environment. Some studies indicate that, the pandemic situation significantly improved air quality in different cities across the world, reduced GHGs emission, lessened water and noise pollution. The travel ban also reduces the pressure on the tourist destinations, which in turn assists with the restoration of the ecological system and this is very significant for a tourist destination like Goa. However, of late we seem to have thrown caution to the winds and once again the cases in Goa are on the rise. So we must follow the social distancing norms, sanitisation etiquettes and wearing of masks strictly,” stressed Caculo.
The newly appointed chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Goa State Council, Atul Jadhav believes that as the vaccination programme accelerates across the State and country, the economy will start looking up and be more open for business. The industry needs to take this opportunity to become a more competitive player with a greater share of global markets. Global merchandise trade will rise to 7.2 per cent this year following a 9.2 per cent contraction in 2020. The supply chains are also shifting as organisations reorient their production capacities. It can be hoped that countries such as India will emerge as reliable production hubs in 2021, with many hurdles in the path of investors being eased.
“The ease of doing business, will build a momentum towards industrial rejuvenation in the State. Businesses are ready to operate in the post-pandemic using more sustainable models and digital technologies. Throughout businesses are being restructured to become more environment conscious while smart technologies are enhancing their presence. As the State’s economy begins to restore itself, one major challenge will be to create jobs as also to improve their quality. New jobs that are created must be accompanied by an improvement in the facilities provided such as housing and access to health and education,” said Jadhav.
Swati Salgaocar, vice chairperson, CII Goa State Council, said “environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive growth will be the norm going ahead. Whether it was the pandemic itself, various natural disasters or the migrant crisis, that economic growth cannot come at the expense of people and the planet if we expect businesses to survive in the long term.”
Rajkumar Kamat, executive director, BNI Goa Region believes that March 22, 2020, will be etched in everybody’s memory for the unprecedented Janata Curfew. “While I do vaguely remember the ‘Blackouts and Curfews’ during Indo-Pak wars, this was a war against a virus - a microscopic organism which had started playing havoc. While the lockouts associated with the pandemic, brought forth many challenges there were a lot of learning’s too,” said Kamat.
He added that there is a much simpler and more beautiful life with family beyond our stressful work life. There is more happiness in helping each other and building relationships.
“Many of our BNI members took it upon themselves to take care of migrants and have nots, especially during the initial 3 months of confusion. We also learnt that to diversify our customer segments rather than putting all eggs in one basket and accelerate use of technology to mange better at lower costs. Mutual understanding between employee and employer relationship also needs to grow much deeper by taking care of each other. As a result, the membership of BNI and the overall business in fact, increased during the last 12 months,” said Kamat.
Area director of IHCL, Goa and general manager of Taj Resort and Convention Centre, Goa, Vincent Ramos is of the opinion that to ensure the survival of business in any industry, it is imperative to adapt to the changing customer demands and requirements. In the hospitality industry, the pandemic brought in a sudden change in the customer’s preference. The industry had never witnessed anything like this in the last 75 years.
“At IHCL hotels, our service design was altered to comply with the safety and hygiene standards of the new normal. It was a challenging year. However I have always believed that tough times only make you better and stronger. The past year also brought us an opportunity to learn during which the entire industry came together embracing a collective, mutually beneficial and coordinated approach for all its stakeholders. IHCL has a history of over 117 years and during this time we have braved through numerous crisis. I am glad to inform that our hotels have performed phenomenally well in the last few months and will perform even better in the months ahead, especially with the mass vaccination drive that kicked off earlier this month,” said Ramos.
Rohini Gonsalves who works in the healthcare sector and is a director in Sevarat Healthcare and Nursing Pvt Ltd was candid in saying, “Perhaps for me, the 22nd of March will be marked in stone as the date that began a new life lesson, a lesson in being watchful and alert, in being grateful, being content, being creative and spreading hope and happiness around everyone you speak with. So it is a good day to remember and commemorate every year hereafter.”
Gonsalves further said, “When I heard of the nation-wide Janta Curfew on March 22, last year, I had this weird hunch that it may be prolong for a few days and not end in just 1 day. Of course I had not had the wildest notion of what would actually unfold over the following weeks and months. On that fateful day, we just roped in all our vehicles to transport our staff to our client locations. We had no idea if we would be stopped by the cops. But being a necessary service, we had to be in action. Fortunately, we received complete support from all the police on duty. So as far as the Sevarat Services are concerned, our ability to serve customers every single day throughout the lockdown, took us several notches up as a reliable service provider.”
Senior Chartered Accountant Santosh R Kenkre who has been practicing for last 36 years in Goa believes that the biggest plus of the virus was WFH (work from home) and VC (video conferencing). This avoided massive travel, effort and time, which we could spend with family.
He added that not to forget the colossal convenience of online payments, online procurement of goods including fish, fruits, vegetables and household items. “The business world was however shaken beyond words. The lockdown, the migrants’ deserting Goa, demand (and stock market) dipping and resurrection thereof, job losses, logistics, all went for a toss. Businesses in travel, tourism, hospitality, hotels were almost wiped out, being optional expenditure. Massive liquidity crush hit all businesses. However, by now, in Goa, most businesses have achieved at least 75 per cent of their pre-COVID turnover,” said Kenkre.
Sandhya Kini Mayenkar who is a proprietor of Kini Supermarket and is responsible for ensuring supplies for household items and daily utilities, takes a sigh of relief by mentioning that one year of a total roller coaster ride. When the entire world came to a halt and the modern economy came crashing down.
“Humans are social creatures, and The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted our attention towards the importance of social interaction and human contact within almost every aspect of our lives, including education, employment, entertainment, and recreation. Efforts to reduce the spread of the virus, including mask protection, physical distancing, quarantine, and stay-at-home orders, have prompted and exacerbated social isolation and loneliness. On a positive outlook, a year into lockdown and the earth is still healing its ecosystem with lesser pollution and increase in greenery and ozone layers. The air quality improved tremendously and we inhaled fresh, pollution-free air in the longest time. This shall remain as a memory forever, for we had nearly forgotten how blue skies ever looked and to hear the birds chirping in place of traffic honks,” added Mayenkar.
She went on to emphasise that there are more happy times with family and friends today and we are experiencing care and love that was overdue and somewhere needed badly.
“All our dreams of careers, fast life, modern lifestyles did not have any meaning. It gave us a chance to get closer to our loved ones, watch our hygiene and live a healthier life and most importantly east healthy. Chasing jobs, careers and education was not as important as staying safe and healthy for our little ones. People worked from home and schools operated online,” she added.
