SWINE (FLU) MINISTER

As usual India has been caught napping in preparedness to handle the anticipated outbreak of H1N1 (a.k.a. Swine Flu) in spite of adequate awareness campaigns and warnings flashed by WHO for the past few months.
The Indian Ministry of Health appears to specialize in having incompetent Ministers tenure after tenure. The present incumbent (Ghulam Nabi Azad) looks unfazed, most probably because he has no clue of ground realities and lives by the principle of ‘ignorance is bliss’ to handle the affairs of his important ministerial portfolio.
His past rhetoric on the subject has been proven completely hollow. Wonder if the HM will be presented with a pink slip by the PM who had promised to offer governance that is accountable and capable of service delivery.
The first unfortunate death caused by the virus of a 14 year old school student in Pune has merely triggered bumbling statements (minus action) from the Minister exposing the total failure of the medical infrastructure in the country to manage a developing disaster around the country.
Most unimaginative policy decisions have been put in place which is totally inadequate to handle the situation even in these early stages. The scale of panic and loss of lives waiting to happen cannot be imagined.
Considering the extremely low level of ‘hygiene sense’ that the majority of the Indian population practices it will not be wrong to assume that India will soon be reeling under the burden of an epidemic situation caused by the H1N1 virus.
Let us hope and pray that better sense will soon prevail to unlock the necessary urgent steps reducing the scope of destruction by the virus, which the HM still believes is not as virulent as its colonial cousin attacking the western world? - for once I would like to trust him!!