BENGALURU: Doctors-turned-MLAs are not battling corona on ground zero like other MLAs, they are fighting with information and precise strategising.
Mangalore City North MLA Bharat Shetty, a medical practitioner, is always masked. He washes hands at regular intervals, changes clothes often, and has a quick bath as soon as he enters his house. He has sent his driver on leave and drives his own vehicle, ensures his meetings are not crowded and follows physical distance norms. His interaction with the public is “virtually nil”, in his words. “It’s a virus we are fighting, and we need to fight differently,’’ he points out.
By contrast, MLAs who don’t understand the basics were still insisting on clearing garbage and fumigation although it has nothing to do with the contagion. Some paid no need to washing of hands, and were casual about shaking hands.
Obstetrician and Khanapur MLA Dr Anjali Nimbalkar has been keeping watch on her constituency like a hawk. “I answer around 400 calls per day,” she told The New Indian Express. “I am remotely monitoring the entire situation.”
There are 280-plus villages in her constituency and thanks to good awareness levels, they are not allowing anyone from outside to enter or leave. Family members returning home are allowed inside only after being certified safe by the civil hospital.
Kunigal MLA Dr Ranganath has been screaming from the rooftops that it is the elderly who are more at risk and has asked his constituency, a 90-minute drive from Bengaluru, to ensure segregation of elders.
Dr Ajay Singh, Jewargi MLA, is more of a medical practitioner than a neta, and his meetings and monitoring are clinical. He washes his hands and is absorbed with the fine detailing which most netas do not understand.