Chandigarh, May 27: Punjab Chief Minister Captain AmarinderSingh on Thursday rolled out a new initiative, involving youth, to take forwardthe state’s Mission Fateh 2.0 as part of the 'Corona Mukt Punjab Abhiyan'(Covid-free Punjab Campaign), with directions to form groups of seven RuralCorona Volunteers (RCVs) per village or municipal ward as a cadre to fight thepandemic.
With the villages more badly affected in the second wave ofCovid, it was important to drive a strong campaign for "Corona MuktPind", he said, directing the Department of Sports & Youth Affairs andDCs to immediately form such RCVs to be the torchbearers in the war against thecontagion. Existing clubs can also become RCVs, he said, adding that thesecould work as a powerful support system for the Panchayats and Municipalitiesin the war against COVID.
Interacting with youth from rural and urban areas throughvideo conferencing, the Chief Minister said as a result of the support of thepeople, the number of cases in the state had come down from around 9000 to4000+ in a matter of about three weeks. But given the impact on rural areasthis time, the situation continues to be grave, he said.
The Chief Minister tasked the RCVs with carrying forward the3Ts drive (Test, Trace and Treat), taking care of poor and elderly andconnecting them to the Covid Control Rooms and helplines, conducting TheekriPehras in all villages, promoting Covid appropriate behaviour, assistingvillagers in accessing adequate healthcare, discouraging Quacks, encouragingdownload of COVA App, besides preparingand displaying banners and pamphlets.
The youth could also play a big role also in counteringrumours and false propaganda on social media, he said, adding that the stategovernment will extend full support to them to fight the pandemic “and savePunjab together.” He also urged the RCVs to spread awareness among the peoplein rural areas on the proper protocols to be followed for Covid treatment,given the spread of black/white fungus due to high usage of steroids.
The Chief Minister announced that beginning today, theDepartment of Youth Affairs has started distributing 1 Lakh Badges and 4 LakhCar Stickers carrying the message “I AM VACCINATED” , and urged the RCVs toencourage people to flaunt their Vaccination Status. It will display the spreadof our vaccination coverage and motivate others too, he added.
As a reward for their participation in the war againstCorona, every RCV will be given a Sports Kit, to be distributed on August 12(International Youth Day), said the Chief Minister, directing the Department ofSports & Youth Affairs to immediately commence the procurement of 15,000kits.
While expressing the hope that Mission 2.0 would be the lastbattle in the war against Covid, the Chief Minister, however, underlined theneed to be prepared for a third wave. Drawing an analogy with the Army, he said“the enemy should never be considered weak, and we should be prepared tofight.”
Expressing concern over vaccine shortage, the Chief Ministersaid the state government was trying to procure vaccines from all possiblesources to meet the sudden demand as more and more people were realizing thatthis was the only protection against the pandemic, especially in view of thefast-spreading strain that originated in UK.
The event was simultaneously telecast in all districts,sub-divisional headquarters, as well as 500 rural and urban locations, presidedover by Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Ministers, MPs, MLAs, DCs, SDMs, Mayors,Presidents of MCs, Chairmen and Members of Zila Parishads, and PanchayatSamitis/Sarpanches.
On the occasion, Youth icon and Brand Ambassador of State'sCovid Vaccine Campaign, Sonu Sood underscored the need to create awarenessamongst people especially in rural areas about the importance of vaccination.He said he will personally try to ensure maximum vaccine supply from BharatBiotech for the state. He also evinced interest in setting up a medical oxygenplant in Government Hospital, Moga.
Health Minister Balbir Sidhu expressed concern over thespread of black fungus, for which the state had received only 1000 doses asagainst the required 15000 (15 doses need to be injected into one patient). Atotal of around 1.4 Crore individuals (37 lakh households) had already beenscreened in the villages as part of the drive to fight Covid in the ruralareas, he disclosed, adding that 4000 of these individuals had been foundpositive and had been assisted as per protocols, while 462 moderately seriousones had been referred to L2 facilities. He also pointed to the death ofseveral patients after recovery, underlining the need for ramping up testingand sampling to ensure early identification and treatment. It was also a matterof concern that 191 pregnant women hadbeen found infected among those screened so far. Further, said the healthminister, action had been taken against several hospitals for over charging andmoney had been refunded by them.
Youth & Sports Service Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhisaid all the 13,857 registered youth clubs in the state would be engaged increating awareness amongst the people for maximum vaccination and timelytreatment of infected persons. He lauded the role of youth in sensitising themasses about the harmful effects of corona and need for proper adherence tohealth protocols last year through door to door campaign.
Indian Youth Congress Punjab president Barinder SinghDhillon said the state’s youth were ready to take on the responsibility as partof the party’s ‘Farz Manukhta Lai’ (Duty for Humanity), but suggested some formof recognition by the government for their efforts.
Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan said the energy of youth couldbe significantly channelised to combat the corona crisis, with their activeparticipation to motivate the people residing in villages to go for vaccinationand for proper healthcare.
Health Advisor to Punjab Government Dr. KK Talwar said youthcould play a meaningful role in the villages to effectively combat the Covid-19by creating awareness about seeking proper treatment/testing from governmentcommunity and primary health centres. Besides, youth could also impress uponthe people, especially in rural areas, not to get themselves treated fromquacks.
Participating in the programme, five youth volunteers(Charanjit Singh Gill from village Sardullapur in Kapurthala district, SeniorVice Chairman Punjab Youth Development Board Prince Khullar, Ruchi Sharma President Mata Khivi Club,Aklian village in Mansa district, Gurlal Singh of Nehru Yuva Kendra, Chak SaidoKe village in Fazilka district and NCC volunteer Nirbhai Jot Kaur fromGovernment College, Mohali) assured the Chief Minister of their full supportand cooperation in the battle against Coronavirus at the grass roots level.