Mumbai, August 13: Authorities here have ordered schools, colleges, coaching classes, cinemas and shopping malls closed for up to a week. It follows the politicisation of a disproportionately high number of swine flu deaths in the state.
The state of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is capital, accounts for 11 of the 15 deaths of swine flu related causes so far in India.
In what is being seen as an over-reaction, the state government on Wednesday directed schools, colleges and coaching classes to stay shut for a week, cinema houses and shopping malls for three days.
Provincial parties Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have been forcing schools and colleges to shut down. The order in Mumbai follows similar action in Pune, the second largest city in the state.
Elections to the state assembly are due in October and a worried state government, led by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, have yielded to pressure from its two provincial rivals. Medical experts and the federal health ministry, while urging caution, have asked authorities to desist from over-reacting, but that has not prevented panic in cities like Pune and Mumbai.
The Indian government is against the indiscriminate closure of schools and colleges, yet the Shiv Sena-controlled Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Maharashtra government have refused to listen. The closure of schools follows a telephone poll, conducted by the BMC, in which a thousand respondents in a city of 15 million felt they should in fact be closed, according to municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak.
A few days ago, Pune schools, colleges, cinema multiplexes and malls were ordered shut for a week. With Mumbai now doing the same, and with no signs of a let-up, Pune could might extend the closure by another week.
On Wednesday, three more deaths were reported from Pune and one from Nashik. Pune now accounts for eight of the 15 deaths claimed by the H1N1 virus all over India. Over 1,000 persons have tested positive for the virus.
Political parties in Maharashtra have also started urging organisers of religious festivities to scale down the celebrations this year. Many festivals are politically sponsored and attract huge crowds.
The biggest public festival in Maharashtra – the 10-day Ganesh Chaturthi – begins on August 23. Millions of people participate in this festival every year. But the fear of swine flu could result in low-key celebrations.
The federal Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has advised TV channels not to spread panic. Health Secretary Naresh Dayal said the H1N1 spread in India was far less and of a less virulent strain than in many other countries.
In fact, seasonal flu causes more deaths in India. Mumbai alone sees hundreds die of diseases like malaria, typhoid, cholera, dengue, gastroenteritis, jaundice and leptospirosis.
–Agencies