We gave up expectations long ago.

The headlines are dire. On 23 April, India counted 346,000 new cases of coronavirus infections and 2,624 deaths. Middle and upper classes have not been spared despite living in gated communities. "In Mumbai, India's financial center, almost 600,000 households are in buildings that have been partially or completely sealed by government authorities, which indicates the coronavirus is spreading rapidly among the city's middle and upper middle classes. Official data show 164,000 slum households are in areas demarcated as 'containment zones' despite the poor being packed in far more tightly," Bloomberg. Yesterday saw another record rise in the number of cases with the Union Health Ministry reporting 3,49,691 new infections, The Economic Times (ET). Hospitals are overwhelmed and oxygen supplies running out. "Twenty critically ill patients died overnight at Jaipur Golden Hospital in Delhi amid a serious oxygen crisis, officials said," ET. "But experts say those numbers, however staggering, represent just a fraction of the real reach of the virus' spread, which has thrown this country into emergency mode," New York Times. "Interviews from cremation grounds across the country, where fires never stop, portray an extensive pattern of deaths far exceeding the official figures. Nervous politicians and hospital administrators may be undercounting or overlooking large numbers of dead, analysts say." "From all the modelling we've done, we believe the true number of deaths is two to five times what is being reported," said epidemiologist Bhramar Mukherjee. "The Centre called the Delhi government a 'cry baby' before the (High) court and said it was the latter's 'incompetence' that led to the deaths of people," Hindustan Times. Isn't it better to cry for the unbearable suffering of fellow citizens than to be callously indifferent and try to hide the true picture to win elections? If the central government has no responsibility why is it there costing the taxpayer vast sums of money? The Delhi High Court threatened to hang anyone blocking supplies of oxygen reaching hospitals. Oh no, you won't. The Supreme Court will probably grant an injunction. As it did with an order for a partial lockdown in 5 cities by the Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh (UP), and will hold the next hearing in two weeks. "The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has left a brutal impact on Uttar Pradesh. The new surge has nearly crippled the state's medical infrastructure," Times of India (TOI). UP now has the second highest number of cases after Maharashtra. "All the resources are concentrated in the hands of the Centre in the name of disaster management. It controls data, which it constantly fudges and manipulates to keep people confused. Its specialists and agencies, including the ICMR and NITI Aayog, have taken recourse to half truths and outright lies. It lies in the courts, refuses to give people relief and wants them to manage the crisis on their own," wrote Prof Apoorvanand. "Nationalistic pride may swell chests, but to fill lungs you need air," wrote Andy Mukherjee. "The second wave need not have been this lethal, if people could breathe a little easier." "What went wrong?" asked Mihir Sharma. "As is usual in India, official arrogance, hyper-nationalism, populism and an ample dose of bureaucratic incompetence have combined to create a crisis." "The government seems to expect Indian manufacturers to produce vaccine on spec, jump through various regulatory hoops, and then break all their other remunerative contracts in order to give their final product solely to the Indian state at grossly insufficient prices." "Patients and their loved ones, unable to get the necessary care, have resorted to pleading on social media for medicine and open hospital beds. And experts who cautioned for months about a potential second wave are frustrated that their warnings went unheeded," CNN. Indians don't expect anything from politicians and civil servants. We have no choice.