Socio-Economic and Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Middle, Poor and Below Poverty Line People

Abstract:-

In this research paper, the researcher is not going to talk about the technical aspects of COVID-19 in detail, because the technical and scientific research is being published everyday in a new format. Till today the scientists are not yet confirmed about the changing aspects of this COVID-19 pandemic disease. As the research is going on it’s not good to claim anything concrete about it. One more important thing is that the researcher doesn’t belong to the science stream that’s why he has been not willing to comment upon the technical and scientific developments. The researcher has decided to focus on the social, economic and psychological impact of COVID-19 on the middle, poor and BPL people in the state of Maharashtra. At present the whole world has been going through traumatic experiences. But the researcher wishes to focus on the impact of COVID-19 in general and in particular the State of Maharashtra. Researcher has been thrown light on the entirely changed social conditions and discriminations among the rural as well as urban society. COVID-19 pandemic situation has completely distorted economic exchange among the middle, poor and below poverty line people of the State as well as the country. As far as psychological and mental setup of the common people is concerned, it’s been tattered totally. Its effects are going to influence for a longer period of the time.

Keywords: - COVID-19, social, economic, psychological, pandemic.

Introduction:-

Pandemics in general are not merely serious public health concerns, rather these trigger disastrous socio-economic, psychological and political crises in the infected countries. COVID-19, apart from becoming the utmost threat to global public health of the era, is being considered as an indicator of inequality and insufficiency of social progression. It’s a direct impact on the social conditions of the rural and urban life of the society. It directly attacks the social ethics of the people. ‘The terminology COVID-19, ‘CO’ stands for ‘corona,’ ‘VI’ for ‘virus,’ and ‘D' for ‘disease’, and 19 represents the year of its occurrence. The first patient of COVID-19 pandemic was reported in December 2019, in Wuhan, China. Since then, the disease rapidly covered the globe and has been eventually affected every continent except Antarctica. It has been declared as a pandemic disease by the World Health Organization. International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) titled the virus as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). These Corona viruses have a large number of diverse families of viruses.

Apart from COVID-19, the human civilization has been gone through at least five pandemics in the current era, e.g. H1N1 in 2009, Polio in 2014, Ebola (out broke in West Africa in 2014), Zika (2016) and Ebola (Democratic Republic of Congo in 2019). Subsequently COVID-19 outbreak has been declared as the next traumatic disease for public health at the international level. These worldwide outbreaks triggered a large number of victims, broken down economic States, and disturbed mental and psychological conditions. Compared to other diseases and their respective burdens, COVID-19 is likely to affect greater human suffering than other contagious diseases over the globe. In addition, other global environmental changes such as the rate of pollution, and urbanization, changing the environment creates an indisputable threat to our planet. To some extent COVID-19 explosion has been considered as an indirect outcome on the global environmental changes. Besides its upsetting effects on human life, the COVID-19 has the impending power to drastically hold back the economy not only of China, USA, or India but also of the world as a whole. Therefore, it’s a need of time to handle the healthcare personnel, governments and the public in general need to show harmony, compatibility and courage to fight shoulder to shoulder for prevention and containment of the pandemic. In the present paper main focus is to highlight the impacts of COVID-19 on social structure, economic conditions and psychological effects on the urban and rural society of the Maharashtra State, and attempt has been made to pinpoint the preventive measures for minimizing the risk factors of this pandemic situation. The researcher has decided to create awareness among the society members regarding the changing mental setup of the society. The paper is been focused on and limited to the three different aspects (social, economic, and psychological) which are explained by using exploratory method for this research article.

COVID- 19 and the Social Condition:-

COVID-19 has been affected and created incalculable problems in the social conditions of doctors, nurses, paramedical staff, sweepers, labourers of all types, education. In this pandemic situation every class has its own problems, which are coming on the front. The middle class people such as doctors, nurses, workers in the companies are truly in the uncontrolled state of mind. They have fear of their own life as well as their job security. What will happen with their jobs is the basic as well as question of survival, they have been facing. The doctors, nurses, sweepers, police have been treated as the threat of their society. The sweeper class is working on daily wages under the burden of COVID -19. If they didn’t turn up on the duties, their families wouldn't be able to survive. They won’t get food one time. The poor class and below poverty line people are migrating from the metropolitan cities to their respective homes, as they are already unorganized workers, who will take cognizance of their existence. They are of the clear opinion that this disease has been entered in our country only due to the rich and economically high class people and the carelessness of the central system of our country. They have become the victim of this fact. The diehard reality is this that the workers have been thinking that they will definitely die without food, so it’s been better to die at our own respective places. Up to 26th March 2020 no one has taken the cognizance of their life, as they came on the road to go to their places, at that time the system got a shock that what kind of blunder they have been done by declaring lockdown in a fraction of moment.

‘Social Distancing’ is the important concept, which has been created utter confusion in the minds of the people. According to educated as well as semi-educated and uneducated people Social Distancing means to create a kind of untouchablity and discrimination among the society to society. Social Distancing is the word which has been used for two thousand years to maintain the untouchability under the banner of caste system in our country. The social worker and linguist Dr. Ganesh Devy has been written a letter to PM for not using this word. The WHO has also given importance for ‘Physical Distance’ from Corona patient and to maintain social coordination among the society members in the COVID-19 pandemic situation. That’s why we, the Indians have been hated the Muslim community after the Tabligi Jamaat event. In the State like Maharashtra the son-in-law has been tied with rope and kept into the temple for 14 days, as a quarantine period. People have been locked the boundaries of their villages, talukas and districts. Because of that most of the patients have been died without reaching at the doorstep of the hospitals.

Government should take care of the middle, poor and below poverty line people in these trying times. Already the companies have been shut down, doctors, nurses, paramedical staff; sweepers will not give a good service, if they don't get the security of their lives. Till today Maharashtra government has not passed any ordinance against Labour Law like UP, Gujarat and Rajasthan (for three years there is not an application of Labour Law), if it’s been happened then the workers who are organised and unorganized will die without food and basic amenities. The researcher hopes that the Maharashtra government won’t pass this ordinance. The Constitution says that Social and Economic judgment is a prior condition of self-esteemed survival rather than to political judgement, so it should be preserved all over the country in general and in Maharashtra particularly. The system should give priority to the lives of these classes; they shouldn’t only take care of the capitalists. It is also observed that COVID-19 has completely changed the social system of our State as well as country. There are shameless things happening in the so called educated society such as the doctors, nurses, ASHA workers, sweepers, police people are asked to leave their societies. This is because misunderstanding, misinterpretation and superstitions about the COVID-19. Even educated people are also boosting up for the wrong things (instead of ‘social distancing’ follow Physical Distance) which have been happening in the society. On the one hand COVID- 19 has exposed the cruel face of human beings, but on the other hand most of the people have been given and given helping hands in these trying times. This disease has completely changed the face of the society. The researcher expects that society members beat the drums, plates, and light the lamps (though under the superstitious and religious temperament) but they have to show humanitarian attitude, compassion and culture of our State. Because one day or the other day this pandemic situation will definitely go away but we, the society members, have to live together for years to come. That’s why without spreading the rumors and ill-thoughts about each other we have to show our unity in diversity and secularism which are the basic principles of our constitution.

COVID- 19 and the Economic Condition:-

Economic sections are badly affected by the COVID -19. Almost all the sectors have been completely crushed down in this trying times of COVID-19, basically tourism, all kinds of business, insurance, banking, administration, trades, sales and services, transportation (trains, airlines, road, and ocean), education, construction, agriculture and agriculture-based small scale businesses, production and distribution, hotels, pubs, parlors, entertainment, stadiums, the expenditure on various family and social functions, private transport, all kinds of small scale industries. Not only COVID-19 but the neo-liberalism policy of our government is responsible for this economic depression. This neo-liberalism policy has destroyed the public sectors such as rationing policy which is used to reach at the doorstep of the villagers. Cooperative societies, public finance support, Gramin Banks, white ATM policy have been deliberately dumbed down into the dustbin. NABARD’s Self Help Groups have been destroyed by these policy makers and promoted Micro-finance Private companies to loot the common people. This pandemic situation has been truly once again proved the importance and heavenly benefits of public sectors such as government hospitals, government primary, secondary schools and colleges, government banks, government jobs, companies run by the government, transportation, small scale grocery shops, vegetable vendors, etc. But governments have been deliberately inviting privatization and killing government sectors. The system of country is been ignoring their responsibility of the common people who are living in the rural and urban areas. Governments throughout the worldwide have to focus on the government sectors to keep the economic health of the country fit and fine. The government has to encourage small industries and companies, as well as government services to increase the income source of the people. Increasing the period of lockdown is not the solution over this pandemic situation. According to the zones (red, orange, green) government has been changed the policy is a great thing in the present time. It’s the only solution to overcome this pandemic situation.

COVID- 19 and the Psychological Condition:-

After the COVID -19’s outbreak, almost all the countries have been declared lockdown. It means everyone should remain at his/her place. Because of this decision all the country has been blocked at one place. As the people were not mentally and psychologically prepared, it has been giving a great mental and psychological shock to the people. The World Health Organisation has been expressed worry about the increasing numbers of psychologically disturbed people all over the world. The people have been facing innumerable problems such as fear of novel coronavirus (as it is very silent killer), what will happen with my job, won’t I get affected if I go to working place, everyone is suspicious about each other because of the silent and invisible features of COVID-19. Human beings of all ages are under tension. As all the members are living under one roof for the first time, everyone is getting angry abruptly, children, youngsters, women, men and oldies have been locked. That's why everyone is losing his/her patience very easily. Because of insecurity labourers are migrating in large numbers. This migration of the workers is called ‘Distressed Migration’. It is not the wishful migration of these millions of workers, under the stress they have been starting to walk to reach at their respective places. In this pandemic situation educational institutes have decided to start online education. Online education system’s stress and tension has killed the students in Maharashtra State. Because of the cancellation of all kinds of examinations, examiners are worried about the future of their education. The ‘Naturalization of Education’ has increased the tensions of the children, students and parents. Work from home has been the new policy of this pandemic time. COVID-19 and lockdown period has increased the diseases like insomnia, hypertension, depression, helplessness, hopelessness anxiety, loneliness, lack of love, care among all the generations. The researcher has observed that this COVID- 19 has been directly affected and will continue to dismantle the mental setup of each and every person of the society. The generation is leading towards drug addiction and other types of wrong habits, which will kill this generation. The survey has shown that most of the cases of madness, depression will come out during and after this deadly pandemic situation.

The psychologists suggest that people should have to practice yoga, pranayam, meditation, reading good books, and confabulation are some of the practices which can help to overcome this trying time.

Conclusion:-.

At the end of this paper, the researcher would like to pinpoint that the govt. should give priority to help the people and it is also the responsibility of the people to understand this disease very carefully. We should follow the rules and regulations of the government. It is very clear that the person who will take care of himself/herself, he/ she will save the life of the next person. As far as our country and State is concerned, the ratio of recovery is very good as compared to other countries. One more important thing is that we should avoid watching News channels. Instead of creating awareness, the channels are playing the politics of ‘Breaking News’ and ‘fear’ which is completely useless. As the time will go on we will definitely triumph over this situation but at present we have to follow scientific methods to safeguard ourselves from this disease.

COVID -19 has once again given chance to look into the basic issues seriously such as economic investment in the research on the vaccines of epidemics which will develop the total health of the country rather than investing in cosmetic productions. Government should strictly tell the production companies to invent such medicines which should cover the disease completely, not for the temporary period. The government should not do the business of benefit. The government of India should work for the Welfare State concept not for the capitalist’s state. Indian government should have to provide jobs in rural areas also to stop the encroachment and overburden of the crowd over the cities. The researcher also suggests that people should have to go and demand for the public sectors. They have to choose such MLA and MP’s who will boost the public sectors. In a true sense we have to learn lessons through this COVID-19 pandemic situation. Now it’s a time now or never.

Reference:-

1. https://www.who.int
2. Science of The Total Environment, vol-728, 01 Aug 2020

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Dr. Prashant Dhondiba Kasabe, JET’s Z. B. Patil College, Dhule NSS (P.O.)