The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in his address today has urged the States and Union Territories to consider lockdown as the last option and instead focus on focusing on micro containment zones keeping in view their local conditions.
Emphasising on the quote ‘Life and Livelihood’ Prime Minister asked the states to see that the exodus of migrant workers from Maharashtra and Delhi should not take place this time. He desired that the states should impress upon the workers and labour to stay where they are and assure them of all help and their vaccination to protect their lives while they would be doing their work. How far the state administration would make the migrant workers understand this is not an easy task as the pandemic panic has gripped them and they have already started the migration to their native places. Keeping in view the wide spectrum of Covid infection across the people, their migration may cause more risk of corona spread due to their travel by buses and trains and they may take infection to the villages and towns.
In the past two weeks, the people in general and opposition leaders, in particular, have been resenting the uncertainty prevailing with a very high spike in the Covid cases and breakdown of the health delivery infrastructure in the urban areas to cope with the huge number of infected patients. Non-availability of beds, oxygen and life saving medicines in the hospitals is no more a hue and cry but a ground reality.
It was highly expected of the prime minister to share with the nation the real situation prevailing in the country and government’s preparedness to deal with the worst pandemic effectively.
The Prime Minister has held discussions in the past few days with the Pharma sector, Medical experts and other strategists on the whole gamut of the pandemic situation and the urgent steps to be taken. Speaking about the COVID-19 vaccination drive, PM Modi said that the country with two ‘Made In India’ vaccines started the world’s largest vaccination program wherein more than 12 crore vaccine doses have been administered. An important decision to vaccinate all those above 18 years from May 1 was taken by the Central government yesterday.
PM has tried to give a message to the people of reassurance and urging their cooperation. His sharing the measures the government being taken like large scale production of Oxygen and to make it available to all those who need it across the country; more production of vaccines and its availability; Sharing 50 per cent vaccines each between the centre and the states; focus on increasing the number of beds in hospitals, large dedicated hospitals for Covid-19; emphasis on Covide appropriate behaviour etc may have a positive impact on the peoples’ resolve to fight the corona calamity.
The challenge before the country is big but we have to overcome it with our resolve, courage and preparation was the crux of PM’s message.
