It sounds like a bad rehash of the famed blue pill/ red pill line from the film Matrix. Except that while this ones playing near you,its not confined to the theatres. The West Bengal government has followed Tamil Nadu in ordering all trains coming from Maharashtra to be stopped,and passengers checked for symptoms of swine flu. Those with tell-tale symptoms such as fever and cough will be given red slips,the healthy will be given green slips. Those with red slips will have to go for a check up once they reach their destination. The desirability of this measure is far from certain. Ever since the H1N1 outbreak in Mexico City in April,countries have tried many techniques to isolate the virus and contain its spread. From shutting down public spaces to targeting citizens from affected countries,many ideas have been experimented with. In fact,Maharashtra shut down schools,colleges and malls in response. Many of these risk over-reach,unless a clear link to containment of the flu is proven. In fact,as the spread of the virus shows no signs of ebbing, experts have suggested a shift of strategy from containment to mitigation. The West Bengal governments plan achieves neither. Fever and cough alone are hardly indicators of H1N1,and tracking red slip holders will prove to be an administrative nightmare. Worse,without achieving any greater public good,it hits at one of Indias most cherished freedoms the right to travel,unchecked,from one state of the Union to another. What next? Every time a pattern in illness or crime is noticed in one state,will everyone and everything coming out of that state become suspect? The surreal colour coding and checks confuses effectiveness with activity.
