Modi meets his full council on ‘once in a century crisis’

THE PM URGED THE MINISTERS TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH PEOPLE OF THEIR RESPECTIVE REGIONS AND ADDRESS ISSUES AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday chaired a meeting with his full council of ministers and other key officials, urging them to tackle the pandemic at a time when India is adding record cases of Covid-19 through personal involvement in their local regions, and ensuring that governments and citizens fight the “once in a century crisis” collectively.

At the meeting, PM Modi noted that “all arms of the government are working unitedly and rapidly to deal with the situation”, said a statement released by the government. He also urged the ministers to stay in touch with people of their respective regions, identify and address issues at the local level, according to the statement.

The ministers were also briefed about the measures taken to address oxygen scarcity in several parts of the country, especially the national capital, in the past week, according to the statement. Other issues of discussion included shortage of essential medicines and efforts to scale up health infrastructure.

Friday’s meeting was the first for the Council of Ministers since the second wave of infections began in February.

The Council of Ministers also stressed the importance of Covid appropriate behaviour, and reiterated that the participation of society is a key aspect to accomplish the “gigantic task ahead”, the statement said.

Later in the day, PM Modi also chaired a meeting to review the functioning of different empowered groups to tackle different issues such as medical amenities, coordination with NGOs, etc.