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Goa villages set up roadblocks, stop outsiders to fight Covid-19
Similar initiatives have been taken by villages in Sonal also a rural village along the Western Ghats and other villages in the Sattari taluka.
Villages across rural Goa have begun voluntarily quarantining themselves by installing roadblocks and barring outsiders from entering the villages in a bid to protect themselves from contracting the Covid-19 disease.
At least three villages in rural Goa have blocked roads and stopped all outsiders while relying on what is produced within the village for their sustenance.
“We have done this to protect us from the virus. No outsider will be allowed. But if a person from the village faces a medical emergency we will allow them to depart and will remove the roadblocks only in those cases,” Devendra Gaonkar a resident of one such village Velus in Valpoi taluka that lies at the foothills of the Western Ghats, said.
“For our daily needs we will rely on what is produced within the village,” Gaonkar said.
Similar initiatives have been taken by villages in Sonal also a rural village along the Western Ghats and other villages in the Sattari taluka.
Despite a decline in agriculture, non urbanised villages in Goa are largely self sufficient and can not only rely on what is produced within but also help supply towns with local produce.
The Goa government has been enforcing a lockdown and has barred the movement of all vehicles excepting government vehicles, vehicles of essential services and their employees.
The Goa Chief Minister has asked people not to venture outside their houses fearing that the three patients who were found positive in Goa have passed on the virus to others before they were detected and quarantined.
“The patients who have been found positive are 100% healthy. The patient who I was talking about yesterday, he is very fit. The other two are also fine, but this patient is 100% healthy. Even today he can play football. Which is why I’m warning people that those who have come from other countries and have the coronavirus, you will not know. They have hidden their travel history, and the people of Goa are yet to realise the consequences of this disease,” Sawant said.
“I foresee a scary scenario. I know what is going to happen. God willing it will not happen. We can use more private hospitals and quarantine centres,” Sawant said.
