Did the Public Miss the Point of PM Modi’s #9pm9Minutes Call?
While the PM called for diyas and candles, the public gave him crackers and marches in a time of social distancing.
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Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam
Millions of people across the country decided to take part in PM Modi’s ‘9 PM, 9 Minutes’ call by bursting firecrackers, instead of simply turning off their lights and lighting diyas, candles and torches for nine minutes as requested, to show national solidarity in the fight against the coronavirus.
Millions Pof people across the country decided to take part in PM Modi’s ‘9 PM, 9 Minutes’ call by bursting firecrackers, instead of simply turning off their lights and lighting diyas, candles and torches for nine minutes as requested, to show national solidarity in the fight against the coronavirus.
On the very same night, there were cases of massive fires being reported in cities like Jaipur, Bihar, and Chennai due to the surge in use of diyas and candles. A flying lantern reportedly fell on a hut in Jaipur’s Vaishali Nagar in Rajasthan, setting it ablaze.
During the 9 PM 9 Minute exercise, several houses were burnt in Bihar’s East Champaram district. According to the villagers, right after PM Modi’s appeal, some people had lit lamps in their huts and a house caught fire which quickly spread into the surrounding areas.
By Monday, air pollution in the national capital and its surrounding regions spiked drastically reportedly due to the bursting of firecrackers. As per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research, the Air Quality Index (AQI) dipped to the “satisfactory” category at 87 from the “good” category during the lockdown.
Given that COVID-19 is a respiratory disease, the way in which the public responded to a call of sombre solidarity seems to have been counter-productive to the cause.
(With inputs from IANS)
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