Go corona go? Gujarat villages teach us how
In Sadra, villagers were given masks
As soon as Gujarat reported its first Covid19-positive case, sarpanches and representatives of 10 villages on the outskirts of Gandhinagar chalked out strategies to keep their villages safe. They sealed their borders, turned off streetlights and ensured social distancing to remain free of Covid-19
Even as Gujarat reported a total of 4,395 corona-positive cases on Thursday, 10 villages around Gandhinagar have cocooned themselves from the deadly effects of the highly contagious respiratory disease.
How you ask? It is all about pro-active prevention.Coronavirus first reared its head in Gujarat on March 19. On realising how fatal the illness could turn out to be, representatives and sarpanches of Rajpur, Chekhalarani, Dolarana Vasna, Bapupura, Haripura, Zakhora, Sadra, Kalyanpura, Motipura and Madhavgadh —in a radius of 25 km from Gandhinagar — met to chalk out a strategy to keep the villages safe. From prohibiting entry of outsiders to enforcing lockdown rules, they have been doing everything possible to prevent the virus from entering their borders.
And, so far, these villages have not reported a single positive case. Parthesh Pandya, a social worker and villager in Rajpur, said, “We met in Rajpur on March 21. We focused on two aspects: awareness and action. We decided to distribute pamphlets door to door in every village on preventive measures to be adopted. We placed banners and formed an online group for all sarpanches to discuss issues and innovative practices to enforce lockdown.”
They also decided to serve ukalo (an Ayurvedic concoction) to all villagers to improve their immunity.Bindu Zala , another social worker from Rajpur, said, “We took the help of government Ayurvedic doctor Palakh Kataria to prepare the ‘ukalo’. We roped in class 10 and 12 students to make it under the supervision of village leader Kunvar Thakor .
The concoction has tulsi, mint, ginger, and other ayurvedic ingredients. For all villages, barring Sadra which did not need assistance, ukalo was prepared in Rajpur and distributed to other villages every five days.” Zala said they prepared 100 litres of ukalo daily. Fumigation is done regularly in these villages. Benches have been turned upside down to prevent people from sitting there. Grocery shops are opened for three hours daily.
Squares have been drawn outside shops to ensure social distancing among customers. Sadra sarpanch Reva Desai said, “We send out an autorickshaw around the village to educate people about the importance of social distancing.
They have been asked to inform health department and panchayat if an outsider visits the village. Initially, people used to gather in the evenings. So, we decided to switch off streetlights. This stopped people from venturing out. We have floodlights at the entrance of the village. It helps in keeping a watch on people coming in and those who violate the lockdown.” Desai added, “With the help of a donor, we distributed masks to 1,000 people and 570 ration kits to needy people.”
Kamlesh Patel, sarpanch of Zakhora and Rajpur, said, “We got fumigation done and got every outsider tested at the primary health centre. No visitors are allowed in the villages.”
Motipura sarpanch Niru Patel said, “We ordered closure of shops selling gutkha or cold drinks. People gather in large numbers at these shops and gossip, which is dangerous. We also distributed free ration kits to poor families.”
Sanjay Chauhan, resident of Kalyanpura village, said, “We don’t go out and follow all the guidelines. The whole village hardly sees any movement. It has become very peaceful.”
Virsangji Chauhan, sarpanch of Dolarana Vasna, said, “I took the help of police and panchayat to make people follow lockdown strictly. We have CCTV cameras installed in village. So, whenever we find people coming out for no reason, we warn them of strict action by police.”
Even as Gujarat reported a total of 4,395 corona-positive cases on Thursday, 10 villages around Gandhinagar have cocooned themselves from the deadly effects of the highly contagious respiratory disease.
How you ask? It is all about pro-active prevention.
Authorities also put up a board at its entrance, clearly stating ‘visitors are NOT welcome’
And, so far, these villages have not reported a single positive case. Parthesh Pandya, a social worker and villager in Rajpur, said, “We met in Rajpur on March 21. We focused on two aspects: awareness and action. We decided to distribute pamphlets door to door in every village on preventive measures to be adopted. We placed banners and formed an online group for all sarpanches to discuss issues and innovative practices to enforce lockdown.”
They also decided to serve ukalo (an Ayurvedic concoction) to all villagers to improve their immunity.
The concoction has tulsi, mint, ginger, and other ayurvedic ingredients. For all villages, barring Sadra which did not need assistance, ukalo was prepared in Rajpur and distributed to other villages every five days.” Zala said they prepared 100 litres of ukalo daily. Fumigation is done regularly in these villages. Benches have been turned upside down to prevent people from sitting there. Grocery shops are opened for three hours daily.
Squares drawn outside shops to ensure social distancing among customers
Squares have been drawn outside shops to ensure social distancing among customers. Sadra sarpanch Reva Desai said, “We send out an autorickshaw around the village to educate people about the importance of social distancing.
They have been asked to inform health department and panchayat if an outsider visits the village. Initially, people used to gather in the evenings. So, we decided to switch off streetlights. This stopped people from venturing out. We have floodlights at the entrance of the village. It helps in keeping a watch on people coming in and those who violate the lockdown.” Desai added, “With the help of a donor, we distributed masks to 1,000 people and 570 ration kits to needy people.”
Kamlesh Patel, sarpanch of Zakhora and Rajpur, said, “We got fumigation done and got every outsider tested at the primary health centre. No visitors are allowed in the villages.”
Villagers consume ukalo made of ayurvedic ingredients
Motipura sarpanch Niru Patel said, “We ordered closure of shops selling gutkha or cold drinks. People gather in large numbers at these shops and gossip, which is dangerous. We also distributed free ration kits to poor families.”
Sanjay Chauhan, resident of Kalyanpura village, said, “We don’t go out and follow all the guidelines. The whole village hardly sees any movement. It has become very peaceful.”
Virsangji Chauhan, sarpanch of Dolarana Vasna, said, “I took the help of police and panchayat to make people follow lockdown strictly. We have CCTV cameras installed in village. So, whenever we find people coming out for no reason, we warn them of strict action by police.”
People used to gather in the evenings. So, we switched off streetlights. This stopped people from venturing out
We closed shops selling gutkha or old drinks. People gather at these shops and gossip, which is dangerous
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