Bajwa, Randhawa want govt to pay attention to villages
BOTH MINISTERS ALSO BACK STRICT ENFORCEMENT OF LOCKDOWN AND COVID NORMS TO CONTAIN SPREAD
CHANDIGARH: Cabinet ministers Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Sunday urged their own government to pay attention towards villages in Punjab, which are witnessing an unprecedented surge in deaths amid the Covid-19 pandemic but are largely going “unnoticed”.
“Families who have lost their loved ones cite breathlessness as a common cause of death,” said Bajwa, talking to HT over phone. The rural development and panchayat minister said the health department needs to divert its attention towards the rural Punjab, adding that he would take up the matter in the upcoming meeting of the council of ministers.
“The health department has called all rural doctors attached with the panchayats department to fight the pandemic in cities, leaving rural dispensaries vacant and no one to take care of the locals,” said Bajwa.
Cooperation and jails minister Randhawa, too, raised the issue while talking to HT over phone. “In a village in my constituency (Dera Baba Nanak), eight people died within a few days. Their family members say that they had Covid-like symptoms. This issue needs to be handled carefully,” he said.
Both ministers, who come from the rural heartland of Majha, also said that the lockdown should be imposed strictly in the entire state to break the chain of infection.
“Villages largely remained untouched during the first wave, but now the virus has penetrated these areas. Awareness among village residents is low and many are still venturing out without taking precautions,” said Randhawa, adding that a strict lockdown will help keep people indoors.
Health and family planning minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said the virus was spreading fast in villages because the people are being “careless”. “They are asymptomatic and ignore minor signs. They need to be careful,” said the minister, adding that the health department is planning an extensive sampling and vaccination drive in villages.
Principal secretary, health, Hussan Lal said: “People are not coming forward to get tested for Covid-19 in villages. They should get tested at the nearest community health centre. Village-level teams are also being formed to conduct testing.”