People are talking about —

— the petty behaviour of the opposition leaders during this time of crisis by echoing the unreasonable chant of ‘Do more,’ just like the leaders of the US do whenever it feels like it during the ‘war on terror.’ People say this is a time when all political parties of the opposition need to forget their agenda of giving a hard time to the present government and work together to fight the virus that has made the world an unsafe place for everyone.

— the ‘yellow shirts’ army that was established by the chief of a political party to pressurise the government and how after a few months of agitating they have disappeared in this time of crisis. People say this political party would have won ‘brownie points’ if it had come out to help the poor and needy with practical help in these trying times, instead of which it has suddenly become quiet and its leader is no longer seen on TV verbalizing his agenda.

— the many birds and animals which died in the pet market because all commercial shops were ordered to shut down and the owners were unable to feed them until the owners finally prevailed on the authorities to allow them to open twice a day for giving them food and water. People say authorities should consider being a little lenient as far as such situations are concerned because these animals are living but voiceless creatures who need to be taken care of.

— the innovative step taken by the Talar Town committee in Badin to mark the front of public places like shops etc: with chalk circles so customers could adhere to the social distancing rule and those who didn’t bother were not allowed to be served. People say the general public is so careless on the matter of social distancing that such measures should be adopted in all public places so that the spread of the dreaded virus can be contained.

— the decision by the government to allow trucks carrying essential items to enter cities and how it is a wise step but one which needs to be strictly monitored because crooks do not care about anything except how much profit they can make. People say smugglers and those indulging in destabilizing the country may try to bring in goods hidden under essential items so a strict policy of checking each and every vehicle should be followed to foil their nefarious attempts.

— the lockdown and its effect on daily life, one of the most difficult conundrums for the experts and parents being home schooling for children, especially the younger ones who do not take things seriously because they are at home. People say the other factor is that not all families keep printers so it is difficult to assign worksheets to the students, while a majority had not purchased books for the new syllabus before shops were closed and therefore have no clue about the lessons.

— the classy public service animated film made by a Pakistani producer especially for audiences in KP so that they can get the message across in the language that is spoken by the local population of the province. People say most public service messages are either in English or Urdu and are not understood by those who speak other languages or dialects, so this is a commendable step and the video should be dubbed in all regional languages and widely screened. — I.H.