NEW DELHI, Apr 20: In a bid to re-assure the people of the country fearing another lockdown, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday addressed the nation late on Tuesday night ruling out a nation-wide lockdown.
His address apparently was to send out messages to the states like Delhi and Maharashtra which have already imposed a limited lockdown or are contemplating to enforce strict lockdown in their states.
“I urge states to use lockdown only as a last resort,” Modi said, adding that they should try their best to avoid lockdown, and focus on micro containment zones instead. He also urged people to come forward in this hour of crisis to help those in need, expressing appreciation for NGOs already working in this regard.
Addressing the nation amidst a steep rise in the country’s daily cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) Modi, who had resorted to nation-wide lockdown as the first step last year to “win over Coronavirus,” on Tuesday said there was a need to prevent the country from entering another lockdown.
Calling the second wave of Covid-19 a “storm,” Modi said he was fully aware of what people were passing through. Expressing condolences on behalf of the nation to those who have lost their loved ones, he called the pandemic a big “challenge,” which can be defeated with determination, courage and preparation.
The Prime Minister said one shouldn’t lose patience no matter what the situation was and remarked that the steps announced in the last few days will help in improving the situation. On the issue of oxygen supply, he said the Centre, state governments and private sectors together were making sure that oxygen was made available to every needy patient.
Modi said the nation had fought against the coronavirus pandemic with discipline and patience and must continue to do so. This comes at a time when India’s daily tally was 259,170 and the cumulative figure breached 15.3 million mark and 1,761 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours.
In a meeting about the third phase of the vaccination drive, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “The government has been working hard for over a year to ensure that maximum number of Indians are able to get the vaccine in the shortest possible time…India is vaccinating people at world record pace and we will continue this with even greater momentum”.
Modi urged the young people to participate in the fight against the pandemic. He also urged all the state governments to ensure the well-being of the migrants. He added that the Centre will take all steps to ensure that migrants are vaccinated in the states they reside in.
He said vaccines would continue to be free in all the government vaccination facilities. He asked the states to allay the concerns of migrant workers by assuring them that their jobs would remain with them. Modi also asked the states to inform them that they will be vaccinated in the next few days.
(Manas Dasgupta)
