We are doing well on COVID, but shouldn't let our guard down: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 64rd episode of his monthly radio address Mann Ki Baat on Sunday (April 26) praised Indians for making the fight against COVID-19 a people’s movement, but also cautioned them not to let their guard down due to relaxations in lockdown norms.

“Be it city or village, we are seeing instances of people feeding the poor while many other are selling their land to raise money for the fight against coronavirus and some are even contributing their pension money for the cause,” he said.

He asked people to shun any complacency that they will not be infected by the coronavirus because it has so far not affected the places where they live or work.

“I urge you not to get overconfident. You should in your over-enthusiasm not think that if the coronavirus has not yet reached your city, village, street or office, it is not going to reach now. Never make such a mistake. The experience of the world tells us a lot in this regard,” he said.

Modi referred to a popular Hindi idiom Sawdhani hati, durghatna ghati (accident happens when caution is lowered) to make his point.

In his 30-minute address, Modi hailed states, emergency workers and civil society groups for their contribution in combating the pandemic, and said that the resolve shown by the people of the country has led to the beginning of a transformation with businesses, offices, educational institutions, medical sector rapidly undergoing new changes.

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With the country under a lockdown since March 24 midnight, he said India’s people-driven battle against the pandemic will be discussed when the world discusses the crisis later.

Citing a Sanskrit shloka, he said. “Fire, debt and illness, if taken lightly, grow again at the first opportunity, assuming dangerous proportions, so it is important to treat them completely. Therefore, in over-enthusiasm, there should be no negligence. We will always have to remain cautious.”

Lauding the contribution of people in terms of helping the poor with food and medicines, he likened the exercise with mahayagya in which everybody is eager to contribute. “We are fortunate that today the whole country, each and every citizen of the country, every person is a soldier in this battle and also leading the battle,” he said.

The prime minister said wearing masks will now become a part of a civilised society and also exhorted people to stop spitting in public places, saying it was high time to get rid of this “bad habit” once and for all. “This will not only boost our basic hygiene standards but also help in preventing the spread of the coronavirus infection,” he said.

The health crisis, Modi said, has made the world pay special attention to Indian heritage of Yoga and Ayurveda as people look to them to boost their immunity.

Modi expressed confidence that the world will acknowledge the significance of India’s traditional medicine system in a similar way it adopted yoga, and lamented that hundreds of years of foreign rule have resulted in Indians failing to realise their own strengths.

“Everyone in this battle is putting up a fight as per ones capacity and ability, and altruism has gained in strength in recent years,” Modi said, asserting that he bowed to this sentiment.

He asked people to join covidwarriors.gov.in, a digital platform that links volunteers, health professionals, representatives of civil society and local administration with each other to take care of relief works. Over 1.25 crore people are already part of this portal, he said. Airlines have clocked a distance of over three lakh km under “Lifeline Udan” project to deliver over five hundred tons of medical supplies to different parts of the country, while the railways has been running more than 100 parcel trains on close to 60 routes, Modi added.

(With inputs from agencies)