Maha govt launches public campaign to curb COVID-19 spread

The Maharashtra governments My Family, My Responsibility campaign will help combat COVID-19 and sarpanches in the state should implement it effectively in villages, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Tuesday as he launched the initiative amid a spike in cases.

Earlier, interacting with corporators of civic bodies in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), except the BMC, Thackeray said the movement will prove to be a key weapon in making people understand the importance of self-protection in the battle against COVID-19.

According to an official statement, Thackeray asked the public representatives to ensure social distancing norms are followed by people in their respective areas to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The statement said around 28,000 sarpanches (village heads) from the state took part in the online meeting.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat and Rural Development Minister Hasan Mushrif, among others, took part in the meeting.

We will contain the novel coronavirus aggressively under the campaign. Hence, sarpanches should implement the campaign with responsibility as the head of family, Thackeray said, according to the statement.

Terming the initiative as historic, Thackeray said Maharashtra will guide the country through it.

He asked sarpanches to see citizens observe social distancing norms and make the campaign a peoples movement.

Thackeray told the sarpanches to introduce people to the new lifestyle which has to be adopted in the wake of the pandemic.

It is said the second wave of COVID-19 has surged in the world. Israel has again declared a lockdown. Some countries are implementing laws strictly.

Those who dont observe rules have to pay hefty fines. But it is always better to follow rules on our own. We will have to usher in a new lifestyle. The campaign is beginning of the same, he added.

Earlier, while addressing corporators via video conferencing, he said public representatives and local administrations should reach out to every person as part of the initiative.

"My Family, My Responsibility campaign will prove to be a key weapon in making people understand the importance of self-protection," the chief minister said.

"While normalcy is being restored in the state, it is important to break the chain of spread of COVID-19. For that, we need to learn to live with the novel coronavirus and need to change our lifestyle," Thackeray observed.

For this, there is a need to spread awareness among people about the infection, the chief minister said.

"The initiative, therefore, is important and public representatives and administration should not remain off-guard and reach out to the last man," he added.

In the first phase of the initiative (till October 10), the government with the help of ASHA (health) workers, medical assistants and others will reach out to households to enquire about the health of people and spread awareness about the infection and its prevention.

People from high-risk groups, having co-morbidity will also be traced during the campaign.

The second phase will be undertaken from October 12 to 24 and volunteers will visit each household twice a month.

The initiative has been launched at a time when the state has recorded nearly 11 lakh cases and more than 30,000 deaths.