WHILE there is much talk of the third Covid wave, which is much deadlier than the earlier ones, the manner in which people seem to have thrown caution to the wind with utter disregard for Covid SOPs is as amazing as it is worrisome.

The accompanying photograph shows a crowd of women who have gathered to collect the stipend doled out by the government under its charity programme. This is a routine practice. Hundreds of women can be seen with their children here and at other similar outlets. Some of them even stay the whole night outside the designated place to head the never-ending queue the next day. These are desperate people who might die of hunger if not killed by Covid. Their disregard for the SOPs may make some weird sense, but what about the government officials dealing with them? Why cannot they enforce the SOPs and ensure compliance?

Babar Ali Khuhawar

Larkana

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2021