Urging the district officials to work towards making villages COVID-free, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K.S. Eshwarappa on Monday said that the government will be identifying good work done at the village levels by instituting awards for individuals and gram panchayats.
The government has decided to give the best gram panchayat award in every taluk and three persons will be identified as “Uttama Sevaka” (good worker) at the taluk level for the services rendered in mitigating the COVID-19 surge in rural areas. “We should make villages COVID-free and efforts should be made to make entire gram panchayats COVID-free,” the Minister said in his address during a virtual meeting of chief executive officers and senior officials on Monday.
‘Discourage gatherings’
Urging the officials to discourage people from holding gatherings in rural areas during the pandemic, he said that attempts should be made wherever possible to see if marriages can be postponed. “I have decided not to attend any marriages irrespective of what people feel about it. We have to set a model. If possible, people should be convinced to postpone holding marriages,” he added.
Stating that the district authorities had done well in containing the virus surge last year, he suggested that people who have tested positive should not be allowed to stay at home and instead they be moved to COVID Care Centres. “Give patients good food and ensure water supply that will enable people to come to the CCCs. Critical cases should be referred to the hospital,” he added.
