Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Freedom from Covid-19 pandemic is the biggest hope people have for 2022. People from different walks of life including police officers, doctors, teachers, painters, poets and Gandhians with whom Free Press talked to said they hope that life returns to normal in New Year.
They are hopeful that humanity will learn appropriate lessons from what it had to face in the last two years and that peace, harmony and love prevail in the society.
Excerpts:
Earn enough
I hope things return to normal in 2022 and the virus goes away. We hope we can meet people, attend functions like we used to do earlier. The condition of the artistes who have suffered immensely due to pandemic, improves. They get work and opportunities and they are able to earn enough for their livelihood.
Padma Shri Bhuri Bai, painter
Less tension
I hope in 2022, the world gets freed from the course of Covid-19 pandemic. Some treatment, some medicine that can cure the disease is discovered. Society becomes better. There is less tension and violence and more harmony and love among people and political interference in our lives is reduced to minimum.
Rajesh Joshi, poet
Gandhian ideals
2021 was the worst year of the 21st century. But it has taught us many lessons. During lockdowns, pollution levels came down. Let us keep them down. In 2021, people lost lives for want of oxygen. Let us protect and grow more natural oxygen (trees) next year. The outgoing year taught us that when chips are down, villages give us shelter. Let us strengthen the rural economy in keeping with Gandhian ideals in the coming year.
RK Paliwal, Gandhian & retired IRS officer
Cleaner offices
I hope that in the New Year, the Omicron variant does not wreak havoc like the earlier variants did. I hope it will fade away. The first week of every year in our office is devoted to Swachhta. We will be working on making our office cleaner. India as a whole also becomes cleaner and everyone is happy and healthy.
Rashmi Baghel, Regional Passport Officer, Bhopal
Precautions needed
I hope there is no third wave of pandemic as it will affect the health system and will ruin the economy. I hope more people get themselves vaccinated against Covid-19 and we get full cooperation and support from the public in dealing with the pandemic and people will follow precautionary guidelines.
Dr Lokendra Dave, HoD pulmonary medicines, GMC
Corona ends
I hope bad times end. They will become history. I hope that the standard of politics in our country will improve because it is even affecting the field of art and culture. Writers, actors, poets and other creative persons are getting branded as supporters of this or that party or ideology. I hope that in the coming year, content and not stars will determine the success of films. A revolution in the world of music will happen.
Rajeev Verma, film, TV and theatre actor
Safer city
I hope the city becomes more secure. People will cooperate with us, especially with respect to Covid norms and traffic. They should be conscious not only about their rights but also about their duties. People have great hopes from the police commissionerate system. But we also have hopes from them.
Irshad Wali, IG, Bhopal (rural)
More opportunities
In the past two years, Covid-19 has snatched childhood from kids. I hope this changes in the year to come - that our children get to attend schools, play, learn and grow academically, mentally, socially and physically. I hope girls will get more opportunities to prove that they can touch the sky, that they can do anything.
Usha Khare, Principal, Govt Girls Higher Secondary School, Jahangirabad
