Mumbai: Undeterred by the BJPs criticism of the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray put out a video message on Wednesday asserting that his government is resolved to fight and win the war against the virus.
Possibly, he had at the back of his mind the assessment of the Central team, which according to a media report, has used a mathematical model to suggest that the number of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai will touch an estimated 42,604 by April 30 and surge to 6,56,407 by May 15!
The five-minute video is an attempt by Thackeray to put the fight against corona virus in perspective; more important is the timing of its release just when the Central team is in Mumbai to review the state’s preparedness.
Thackeray’s media advisor Harshal Pradhan told FPJ, The CM and his entire team are focused on controlling the coronavirus pandemic. Through this video it was also an attempt to send a clear message that Thackeray means business and he is a no-nonsense administrator.
So, without getting drawn into the controversial assessment of the Central team and contesting the methodology and tools used for the projection, Thackeray, with the aid of visuals in the video, has hailed the cooperation of citizens in the war against the virus and the 24x7 painstaking work of the government employees, doctors, paramedics, nurses, police and the staff from the health and conservancy departments.
However, the BMC, pitting numbers against numbers, was assertive in its own way when it pointed out that at present 2,882 coronavirus patients are being treated in the civic hospitals and 80 per cent of them are stable.
Thackeray had said two days ago: "This is a war against a virus, and we can win it with determination and not by getting frightened or creating panic." That should be a fitting retort for prophets of doom.
