India suffered from the worst affect of the pandemic, owing it to the second wave, or the double mutant B.167 Indian covid variant with thousands dying daily in the country, setting new death records day after day. Nature played its role to make it worse. With the country suffering from shortage of vaccines, hindered oxygen supply, unemployment, starvation, nature was cruel to India with its Tauktae Cyclone, Yaas Cyclone, colourful fungus, earthquakes in Assam and floods as well as continuous 6 month forest fire in Uttarakhand .
Tauktae
Tauktae cyclone, at ravishing speed of 190km/hr took over 174 lives with over 80 still missing. Making landfall on May 18, a total of 2,364 incidents of trees or branches uprooting were reported in Mumbai in a span of 24 hours. Displacing 2,00,000 people and destruction amounting to Rs. 15,000 crores, nature took its revenge with returning tonnes of garbage on Mumbai beaches that has been dumped in the oceans and seas over decades and polluting the water bodies. Nature cleaned itself on its own teaching an ironical lesson along the way hoping humans understand while there is still time.
Yaas
It did not stop with one cyclone, while the country was still dealing with the aftermath of Tauktae, entered Yaas with speed of over 130 km/hr taking over 20 lives and displacing 8,00,000 people in West Bengal and Odisha. The destruction amounted to excess of 20,000 crores in West Bengal and 610 crores in Odisha. It made landfall on May 26 and people are still longing for basic needs such as drinking water as the infrastructure has been damaged, with floods in Sunderbans and plumbing either damaged or filled with dirt. Since, the water level is still high, the authorities are unable to initiate the repair work. Amid the pandemic, lakhs took refuge in over crowded shelters, raising concerns for the spread of Covid 19, once ‘the very severe cyclonic storm’ passes.
Fungus in colours - Black, White & Yellow
White Fungus or Aspergillus Flavus is caused in patients with low immunity or high usage of steroids, it can be fatal if not treated properly. Yellow Fungus was only found in reptiles till now but a patient in Ghaziabad was detected with all three - Black, White and Yellow Fungus, Yellow Fungus is difficult to detect as it grows internally. Black Fungus or Mucormycosis is the most widespread of these in India, about 12,000 people have already been infected and over 300 have succumbed to it. Usually infecting people with low immunity, diabetic or excessive users of steroids, it has been classified as an epidemic under Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.
“ Imagine a person fighting for his life from Covid 19, finally recovering after a fortnight and succumbing to a fungus ”
India has been suffering from shortage of Amphotericin-B, the jab required to treat the disease with over 50 doses needed per patient in a week. Imagine a person fighting for his life from Covid 19, finally recovering after a fortnight and succumbing to a fungus. Fraudsters and black marketers have already got to work in the country with people asking for Rs. 50,000 per dose which is ten times the amount and doses still not delivered after payment.
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