E-Paper
Capt announces ₹10-lakh grant for villages achieving 100% vaccination target
Amarinder asked the panchayats to organise special medical camps and to rope in the services of ex-servicemen for state’s fight against the pandemic
To incentivise villages to give up vaccine hesitancy, chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday announced a special development grant of ₹10 lakh to every village that achieves 100% vaccination target under the Punjab government’s “Corona Mukt Pind Abhiyan”.
Appealing to sarpanches and panches across the state to lead their villages in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, Amarinder urged them to motivate the people to undergo testing even in case of mild symptoms, and to get themselves vaccinated. The chief minister was interacting virtually with village panchayats represented by more than 2,000 heads/members across over 4,000 live locations in rural areas of the state through LED screens.
The CM informed them that the government had already sanctioned permission for sarpanches to utilise up to ₹5,000 per day from panchayat funds for emergency Covid treatment. Underlining the need to sensitise the rural population about the harmful effects of coronavirus and the importance of early detection and treatment to save precious lives, the CM said this could only be done through special awareness campaigns.
Amarinder asked the panchayats to organise special medical camps and to rope in the services of ex-servicemen, who had fought several wars during their active service career and were now part of the state’s fight against the pandemic. He asked the sarpaches and panches to start “theekri pehra” in their villages to prevent infected persons from coming in and also distribute “Fateh Kits” to every person who tests positive, besides ensuring proper treatment in case oxygen saturation level goes below 94%.
He also urged the people living in villages to immediately quarantine themselves in case of any symptoms, and get themselves tested to ensure early detection of the infection.
Earlier, rural development and panchayats minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa requested the panchayat members to come forward to support the government’s endeavour to control the Covid situation. He also advised villagers not to rely on quacks but to consult the doctors in the government primary health centres.
Health and family welfare minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said the health department had already placed an order for 12 lakh kits for Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) to detect the corona cases at the initial stage.
