Our Correspondent

Hoshiarpur, May 5

Giving a clarion call to people that ‘let’s be warriors and barriers’ against Covid, the Chabbewal MLA, Dr Raj Kumar, on Wednesday met nearly 20 sarpanches to underline the need of proper adoption of Covid appropriate behaviour in their respective villages to put an end to further spread of infection in rural areas.

Speaking about the drive, Dr Raj Kumar said that this initiative was aimed at educating more and more people through panchayats against the rural pandemic. He said that he would continuously meet sarpanches to give a fillip to the drive in larger public interest as the case fatality rate had been recorded 2.8 per cent in rural areas, which is four time high than 0.7 per cent in urban areas.

Accompanied with a team of doctors, the MLA held marathon discussions with the sarpanches in Primary Health Centre Harta Badla to encourage them to sensitise maximum rural populace about the second wave of Covid and its effects. Dr Raj Kumar emphasised that only sincere adoption of Covid appropriate behaviour could halt the further transmission of infection so that people should not to be careless towards Covid guidelines at any level. He exhorted the sarpanches, other elected representatives, office-bearers of social and religious organisations to work together and in tandem to contain the virus.

The MLA categorically mentioned that the state government, Health Department, civil and police administration were working round the clock to keep this virus at bay. At the same time representatives of different organisations must motivate people for timely testing and vaccination, said the MLA, adding that people should extend all possible help to medical teams in contact tracing as well as maintaining quarantine period without any fail. He also informed that as many as 10 medical teams were working in Harta Badla block for testing and vaccination in villages, factories and police posts. These teams have also administered 1,770 doses between May 1 and May 4, said Dr Raj Kumar, adding that the district administration had made elaborate arrangements to tackle any sort of exigency arising of Covid.