Mumbai Model
The Mumbai Model has been praised by the honourable Supreme Court and many more people for which we are grateful. But my message to all the citizens of Maharashtra, stay home, step out only if need be, mask up, the battle isn't over. The praise is only a sign for us to be brave and fight harder, and that is our ethos! As the first case of Covid hit Maharashtra in Pune, around March 9 last year, a containment zone was immediately formed around the home of the index case and the patient was traced, tested and isolated. At the Vidhan Sabha we had just presented our first budget as the MVA government. I remember walking into the conference hall where Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy Chief Minister (and Guardian Minister of Pune) Ajit Pawar, and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat were on an emergency video call with the administration of Pune. They were joined by a group of senior ministers and bureaucrats. Covid-19 was then too new to be fully comprehended. There had been varying...