Pune bustles with life, lives with swine flu (Letter from Pune)

PUNE - Vaishnavi Bala, 22, is happy to be back at her favourite eating joint on M.G. Road with her usual college gang. A few months ago she had fled the city due to panic over swine flu, a disease that has claimed at least 100 lives here.

Besides M.G. Road, the popular hangout place Fergusson College Road is also bustling with people. It’s hard to believe that just three months ago, these very streets wore a deserted look.

“I am glad I am back. I had to go home to Hyderabad when our college shut down in August. The day we heard our college was shutting down, there was a mad scramble by everyone to book tickets for home,” Bala, who is doing her masters from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communications, told IANS.

“I just can’t forget the day. The airport and railway stations looked like everyone wanted to flee the city. Thank god, it is back to normal,” she said.

Often called the “Oxford of the East” owing to a high number of educational institutions here, Pune has come to acquire a new distinction as the epicentre of Influenza A (H1N1) virus. It was this Maharashtra city that on Aug 3 reported the first swine flu death in India.

Rida Shaikh, 14, died at a private hospital in Pune. Panic soon gripped people and on one particular day, thousands visited a hospital for testing.

Face masks soon disappeared from chemists as everyone began to don them, believing it would protect the wearer.

“The swine flu scare affected every student in my college. Our parents were jittery and anxious and the college issued a two-page document giving dos and don’ts, including washing hands and avoiding crowds. We were just stuck in the hostel,” said student Vinaya Gopal, who belongs to Chennai.

Although the toll is still rising and health authorities fear the winter season could bring in a second wave of a resurgent virus, the mood in the city seems relaxed.

“Shoppers are back in the market, footfalls have increased in the malls, children are back in schools and hospitals no longer have hundreds of people lining up to get tested for swine flu,” said Bindu Jain, a 35-year-old housewife.

Now, eating joints like Good Luck Cafe and Hakka on Fergusson College Road and German Bakery and Monginis at M.G. Road are back to seeing dozens of students gorge on pastries, sandwiches and some mouth-watering Chinese cuisine.

“People are no longer scared of leaving their homes for a short walk or for their daily supplies. Earlier, we were just camping at home, scared to even step out, fearing we will catch the virus,” Jain said.

Sushma Yevale, a paediatrician, said: “There is absolutely no panic now. Awareness about the disease has helped in a major way. Now people do not line up at hospitals to get tested for swine flu if they are suffering from a minor cold or cough.”

“Swine flu tests are not restricted to hospitals any more. Even though swine flu tests cost around Rs.4,500 per person, if anyone has continuous fever, they get check-ups done,” Yevale told IANS.

Shuchita Anand Phadke, a teacher from the Sahakar Vidya Mandir, feels the media initially added to the hysteria. “The shutting down of public places created panic in the city. And the media helped aggravate the situation,” Phadke told IANS.

The long shadow of swine flu might still be there, but for city residents, it is time to live normally after the scare in August.

“We are looking forward to a peaceful New Year and some fun,” said Bala.

(Astha Hemant be contacted at astha.hemant@simc.edu)