Since no corner of the world is spared by the deadly CoronaVirus in its eruption, Kashmir is also hit worse by its presence. Like all the other parts of the world, this region is identically struggling against the stressful situation. On the one hand, people here are trying to make both ends meet scarcely, and fix their backs that broke during all these years. Whereas, on the other hand, the virus is acting up staunchly. There is hardly any way left to be practiced to pull oneself out of the traumatic situation. There is a surge in cases. People are dying, grudgingly. To avoid crowds, the authority has to come up with a decision of shutting the valley down. And the lockdown may continue for days or months together that doesn’t perturb them (for various obvious reasons)but the influence of the lockdown on them. The only question Kashmir is confronting right now is: What if the valley is locked down again? How may the poorer section of this society survive? Taking into account the destruction brought about by the ongoing pandemic, one has to struggle for one’s life first. To make efforts to survive is the priority, or maybe the only priority in such mean times. Unfortunately, the poor cannot make it to survive. If they are stuck inside their homes to protect themselves from the Virus, with no money, they die. If they go out to keep their safety at bay and save themselves from starvation, they die. They have to die either way. We need to find out measures, other than putting the valley under strict lockdown or curfew, to pave way for the survival of the poor.
