Kolkata has made a travesty of Phase 5 of the lockdown, if the chock-a-block cars and crowds are any indication. Social distancing has been thrown to the wind, whether in the skeletal public transport or outdoors. Last Monday, when the fifth phase kicked in, the scenario in the city was reminiscent of the crowds on Mahashtami.

No one denies that the people are contending with their patience sorely tried over the past two months. The nub of the matter must be that over the past 48 hours, the ambience of Kolkata has become frightfully fraught. It is hard not to wonder whether the relaxation, at least in West Bengal, has been premature, made with a lack of transparency.

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And in a deeply distressing coincidence, the state registered 396 fresh cases of Covid and ten deaths on Tuesday ~ verily the highest surge thus far ~ within 24 hours after what they call the “relaxed lockdown”. So “relaxed” indeed that passengers are being allowed to stand and travel in buses of the West Bengal Transport Corporation.

They may yet stand and travel in private buses and minibuses if the dispute over fares and the permissible number of passengers are not settled between now and 8 June when all offices have been advised to reopen. With only a few offices having reopened on 1 June, the queue in the terminals was forbidding.

The chaos is overwhelming. As yet, there is no settlement on revised fares with the operators of private buses. Given the multiplicity of unions, a few buses are operating with little or no benefit to the traveller. Arguably, the position was far better before the serial lockdowns were imposed.

The entry of migrants has doubtless exacerbated the crisis, almost unmanageable. As the lockdown gets extended every fortnight, it is hard not to wonder whether the decisions are being firmed up by the Centre and the States in consultation with the medical fraternity.

Ever since the morning of 25 March, there has been no publication of the scientific advice, no openness about how the various risks have been addressed, no explanation as to why the government thinks it is safe to make so many changes simultaneously rather than adopt a more cautious approach.

It leaves the impression of a hapless government that has consistently accorded the short shrift to public health messaging. Noticeable is the anxiety to at once extend and relax the lockdown without the basics in place. Relaxing the lockdown is meaningless in the absence of urban and rural transportation.

It is all very comforting to announce that both intra and inter-district bus services will be resumed during Phase 5. The overcrowding in interdistrict buses in West Bengal on Monday confirmed the worst misgivings. Every rule in the book on social distancing was almost inevitably flouted. Truth to tell, the passenger had no option.