Hindustan Times (Patna) - Hindustan Times (Patna) - Live
Reopening liquor shops wasn’t the right decision
At a time when there is a spurt in Covid-19 cases, actor Jaideep Ahlawat feels reopening liquor shops wasn’t the “right decision”. He rues that on day one of the reopening, people across the country were seen flouting the social distancing protocol.
The actor tells us, “It was a mockery of the lockdown, especially in Maharashtra where people in large numbers came out to buy liquor. With rising Covid-19 cases and deaths in India, the government should have thought of the repercussions before opening liquor shops”.
The actor, 40, says that if reopening liquor shops was beneficial for the economy, then “the government should have come up with better services like ordering liquor online and home delivery facility”.
Condemning the attacks on medical staff and cops who have been working non-stop to save citizens and urging them to follow protocols, he says, “It’s foolish and such a shame that we attack those working for everyone’s safety.” Instead, the Raazi (2018) actor believes that people who work tirelessly for the well-being of society need to be supported and applauded for their efforts.
“We humans need to reboot and learn to have gratitude for our doctors, police officers, or those providing essential services, otherwise they would feel that it’s a thankless job. They risk their lives for others and don’t even get time for their own family. We need to be more compassionate, caring towards them instead of misbehaving,” he adds.
Schools are shut and kids are cooped up inside their homes. And with no guarantee of the lockdown lifting, studies must go on. As schools resort to online classes, celebrities are making sure their kids embrace technology to keep their education going.
Shilpa Shetty Kundra is keeping her seven-year-old son, Viaan, busy with studies and craft work. “It is driving me nuts. But I have to credit my husband (Raj Kundra). I do like 20%, he does 80% of the job. I am tech challenged; I don’t even know how to get into the link,” she shares.
According to a video posted by Genelia Deshmukh, her threeyear-old son Rahyl has been taking online lessons. She shared on social media, “At first I thought, my whole world would come crashing down and that this concept would never ever work, but that’s not what my kids feel… All they need is a little love and time from their parents and they are just fine.” Tara Sharma is impressed with the way schools are keeping kids in routine with online classes. “My elder son is 10 and the younger one is eight. School begins at 8.45am, I’m very strict that they are at their desk by then,” she says. Digital classrooms have come to the rescue of Ashish Chowdhry’s three kids. “I have lucked out a bit as my kids have around
16- 18 classmates. So, teachers get on video calls and organise online classrooms with ease,” he says.
Actor Hiten Tejwani is happy that his 10-year-old twins, daughter Katya and son Neevan are not sitting idle at home. “They start every morning at 9 and it goes on for 3-4 hours. They study. If they have doubts, they ask their teachers and they submit their work online,” he says.
Like cricketer Shikhar Dhawan, who is tutoring his six-year-old son Zoravar, Mandira Bedi, too, says she follows a strict schedule and there are no compromises with her son, Vir, 8. “I don’t jump straight into assignments. I give him his one hour of reading. Then I get into his first subject, and then next. For his passion project, we decided to do a poster on the four H’s, which is need of the hour now — happiness, hygiene, habits and hope.”
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Tusshar Kapoor admits he has become a lockdown teacher to his three-year-old son, Laksshya. “We have online chats with his teachers and friends. Plus, I am taking all his lessons, from rhymes, to art and craft to physical education,” he shares.
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