Effectively from March 22, Goa in particular was under lockdown. Almost all commercial activities came to a standstill. The restaurants, hotels, retailers, cruise boating, event management, trading hubs, casinos came to a grinding halt.
Being a resident of Panjim, for me it was a bitter sweet package deal. Right from day one I started enjoying the serene and the tranquil moments around me. It was pleasing to enjoy the dust around me settled down. PM10 and PM2.5 could be actually visualised going down and the hills across Panjim were distinctly visible in the last few days in March. Entire April saw River Mandovi breathing easy and deep. Free from the casino feeder boats, I found myself jumping with joy seeing dolphins, sharks, mullets and red snappers pop up and down the blue crystal waters of River Mandovi. Often, I spent minutes, synchronising my dance with the jumping fish close to the jetty. Sadly the terminal building for which 200 cement pilings were laid did hinder and obstruct the silvery white delightful pisces and arthropods from coming close to the jetty.
Thirty years ago and more, I was able to see young children swimming across River Mandovi along with fish, but the casino culture and the unscientific boating and riverine commercial activities, including the ‘obnoxious’ Sagarmala project would destroy this heavenly ambience once the lockdown would be lifted and the degrading and destructive activities resumed with a vengeance.
Let us scientifically roll back the clock whilst the corona epidemic gripped China in December, 2019 and India had its first victim in January, we in India were entertaining Donald Trump, celebrating Shigmos and Carnival festivities. There were Chinese, Italians, Spanish and Americans dying in the months of February and March 2020, whilst in India the BJP government at the Centre was involved in toppling governments of the Opposition; huddling, cuddling and shuttling their MLAs across borders. In Goa, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant himself was announcing social distancing, quarantine to the general public but the Goa political class was busy in conducting the Zilla Panchayat polls on March 24.
All said and done, as a field worker, I quietly moved across from my house and found people, not just me alone, suffering from pangs of hunger, as there was no scientific supply of groceries and essential commodities. The pangs of hunger truly did not anger and bother most of us, as we all understood that it is better late than never. Instead of lockdown being announced on March 1, it was announced on March 22; as a result many COVID-infected individuals not only entered India as tourists but Goa, which could have boasted of being a COVID-19 free State was unable to achieve this feat. Goa did the right thing by shutting down casinos and the social interactive events, including religious meetings and alcohol parlours. Coronavirus, essentially capsid is a RNA virus, with a protein capsid, which is in turn made of capsomer subunits with spikes. It is the spike proteins in the virus, which has effective receptors in the human throat and nose.
The spike proteins also attaches itself through chemical bondings on our hands, paper and surfaces of solid substrates shoes as well as cellulosic materials have hydroxyl component, which allows the virus to attach itself but does not allow it to multiply.
Of course I did stop reading books and magazines, specially coming from Mumbai and kept my mind active on my mobile with Internet services.
As soaps, detergents and terpenes are having the lipophilic head, Goans wisely used them to rupture the lipophiic materials on the virus surfaces and kill them. Goans are also kindly aware that social distancing is not a cure but a preventive pause and to get rid of COVID-19 although challenging must be done by adopting a scientific rationale. The respiratory infections are spread in alarming proportions through dust handling and spreading sadly whilst Goa was on the lockdown hundreds of mining trucks romped and roamed across Goan borders carrying iron ore and manganese and if it resumes, Goans would not only suffer from respiratory but also enteric water borne disease.
Mother Nature has bestowed upon us rich and diverse immune response systems. We have a diverse array and bouquet of humeral and cellular response in our body. We are gifted with Immunoglobulins or antibodies against external antigens or germs. The 5 main antibodies produced are IgG, IgA, IgM, IgE and IgD.
To an average person it is enough to know our body not only reacts to germs but also to external particulate impurities, pollen grains, coal and mining dust and even foods in the form of allergies. There are some types of antibodies that help humans in alerting their immune system and the other types of antibodies that act upon invading the external threat, besides, the white blood cells which defend or body.
Sadly we weaken our body by pollution of air, water, soil and food and make ourselves susceptible to disease. Genetic aberrations due to adulteration dust of concretisation, mining, chemical formulation, droplet nuclei in air conditioning systems, and bio fouling would cause an epidemic in future in Goa particularly because inhalation of dust is becoming a way of life.
Will Goans wake up to the destruction and degradation of Mother Goa to sustain our Economy or change our lifestyle to harnessing solar energy with rich agricultural dividends, only time will answer.
(The writer is a Retired University Professor and an Environmental Activist)
