Frightening experience : Santosh Hegde on COVID-19 pandemic

Team Udayavani, Apr 3, 2020, 6:43 PM IST

Bengaluru: I have not seen anything like this in my life-time. Its a frightening experience, retired Supreme Court judge N Santosh Hegde said on Friday on the coronavirus pandemic.

“I am 80-years-old. I have not seen anything like this in my life-time, the former Solicitor General of India told PTI, adding, he has never seen the kind of fear the people today have due to COVID-19.

This is an experience which nobody can forget, Hegde said.

It also has a message that however much one may plan ones life, its not in ones hands.

One acquires most of the diseases by ones actions and inactions but Coronavirus is something that one can get from infection of others.

So, its a frightening experience.

And the consequences like the ones we are suffering now, undergoing incarceration for the last so many days, staying away from real life, is something which is not very enjoyable, the former Karnataka Lokayukta said.

This is the first time in my life that I have been asked to sit inside a room for such a long time. Its for my own good. I follow it very strictly, Hegde said.

He regretted that a section of the people have not learnt a lesson from the experiences of others as Coronoavirus is so infectious that one can not only get it, but also transfer it to others in a large numbers causing a great bit of tragedy in society.

For example even when we are supposed to be inside, away from social contact, we find thousands of people who come out, including religious groups also.

Its a very sad thing that as human beings we are not prepared to learn a lesson, for our own good, for our own family.

I think we are so selfish that we just dont bother about anybody else…” Hegde said.

Asked if he thought that the Government has done a good job in efforts to combat Coronavirus, he said in this situation he does not think any institution by itself can do much.

They (institutions) can do so much, and nothing more than that; every individual should inculcate discipline.

Then alone we can fight this disease.

If we think that others can fight and we can be away from that fight, I dont think we will be successful in this fight, Hegde said.