Jammu and Kashmir has entered into lockdown mode. But this is not the first time that people of this godforsaken land are being forced to stay at home. The only difference this time around is that instead of human greed and lust for power, it is a natural catastrophe that is threatening not just J&K but the very existence of the humanity as we know it. With Italy’s death toll surpassing that of China where the deadly novel coronavirus was first reported, the situation is getting bleaker and bleaker. In the vast majority of the newly created union territory, turmoil-hit businesses have come to a grinding halt, educational institutions are shut and roads are wearing deserted looks, thanks to the coronavirus that has breached into our midst despite all the measures taken by the government to ensure exactly its opposite. It is being reported that the first case from Kashmir, an elderly woman from Khanyar, is the mother-in-law of a senior police officer posted in the Valley and she was “allowed” to go home on the intervention of her well-connected son-in-law, despite the fact that people arriving in the Valley from foreign countries are being subject to rigorous testing. Two days later, her test has confirmed that she was infected by the virus. In these two days, she must have come in contact with dozens of people who had come to congratulate her for undertaking the holy pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. Then those who came in contact with the woman must have come in contact with other persons also. This chain is spreading, even as we write this, and the sorry state of our medical sector coupled with the abysmally low staff strength of the health department is an ominous sign that we are, God forbid, sitting on a volcano which can bust anytime. This alleged reckless act of one man in the security establishment has put the lives of millions of people at risk in the Valley. In fact, by not ordering an inquiry into how and why the woman was allowed to go home despite returning from a COVI-hit country show that instead of stopping the spread of the virus, the government is actively facilitating it. The government has an uphill task at hand. While some officials at the helm may be suffering from delusions of power and privilege, as citizens, we must follow the government advisories and do whatever is required to stop the virus from restoring to the ugly dance of death!