PM’s interaction with state and district officials on the COVID-19 situation
Speaker: Narendra Modi
Date: 20 May, 2021

You are the most prominent warrior in the districts in the fight against the second wave of corona. You have confronted such a big wave by making the best use of the available resources in this biggest disaster in 100 years. Friends, At the beginning of our conversation, I would like to remind you of the day when you were preparing to join this service. You recall, when you were preparing for civil services or other examinations, you believed in your hard work and your approach the most. Being familiar with the smallest of the details of the area, you thought of overcoming a particular problem in your way. The same approach also became the ladder to your success. Today, circumstances have given you an opportunity to test your abilities in a new way. Your same spirit to overcome the smallest problem in your district and solve the problems of the people with complete sensitivity is proving to be very handy. Yes, coronavirus has made your work more challenging and demanding. Our sensitivity and our morale are of paramount importance in the face of disasters like pandemics. It is in this spirit that you have to continue to reach out to the people more vigorously and extensively. Friends, In the midst of these new challenges, we need new strategies and solutions. And, therefore, it becomes important to share local experiences and work together as a country. Just two days ago, I had the opportunity to talk to the officials of some other states. In that meeting, many suggestions and solutions have come from colleagues from different districts. Today also some officers here have shared the status of their districts and their strategy with all of us. When there is direct interaction with people on the field, it helps a lot in dealing with such unprecedented situations. Many such suggestions have been received in the recent past. There have been reports of several innovative methods depending upon the situation in many districts. Mobile vans have been used to reach out to as many people for corona tests. Some people have taken the initiative to convert schools and panchayat buildings into CovidCare Centres. The confidence of the people grows manifold when you visit villages, monitor the arrangements, talk to the villagers or village leaders in the group of five, 10 and 15 from different areas, and clear their doubts. All apprehensions in a way turn into confidence. Your presence and your communication with people remove their fear of where they will go, what will happen to them if something happens. His entire psyche changes when he sees you. This increases the courage as well as awareness among the people to save their village. I urge you to make long-term awareness efforts among the people to keep their village free from corona. Friends, It is true that active cases have started dipping in the country. You must also have experienced a lot of change in your district compared to the pressure that you were going through 20 days ago. But over the past one-and-a-half years, you have experienced that the challenge remains as long as this infection is present even on the minor scale.Sometimes when cases start declining, people also feel that it is not a matter of concern now that it is gone, but the experience is quite different. In order to ensure that the seriousness of the people about measures like testing and distancing does not diminish, we have to strengthen the spirit of collective responsibility between the government machinery, social organizations, people’s representatives, and, therefore, the responsibility of the administration increases further. It helps a lot in the fight against corona when Covid appropriate behavior such as wearing masks and washing hands is maintained and people in your districts, markets and villages follow all the guidelines even after cases drop to minimal. Effective results come out in a matter of course by constantly monitoring the situation and maintaining better coordination among all the major departments of the district, such as the police department, and ensuring all arrangements, including cleanliness. I have been getting information about the results of this strategy from many of your districts. You have really saved the lives of a large number of people in these places. Friends, Your hands-on measures, experience and feedback help create practical and effective policies. The vaccination strategy is also being pushed forward by incorporating suggestions from states and various stakeholders at all levels. Keeping this in view, the health ministry is providing the next 15-day vaccine dosage information to states. The clarity of the vaccine supply timeline is going to make it easier for all of you in immunization management. I am confident that the supply will be further strengthened at every district and vaccination centre level. This will go a long way in removing the uncertainties associated with vaccination and streamlining the entire process. There will be minimum discomfort to people if we regularly share the vaccination calendar as much as possible on different media platforms. Friends, Whether it is past pandemics or the present one, every pandemic has taught us one thing. While dealing with pandemics, our practices need constant change, innovation and upgradation. This virus is expert in mutating and keeps on changing its form, so our methods and strategies should be dynamic. Our scientists are working day and night to deal with the changing forms of the virus. Work is constantly going on from producing vaccines to SOPs and developing new drugs. When our administrative approach also remains innovative and dynamic, we get extraordinary results. The challenges of your district will be unique so your solutions should be equally unique.Wastage of vaccines is a major problem. Wastage of a single dose of vaccine means not providing security to an individual. Therefore, it is essential to stop wastage of vaccines. I would also like to tell you that when you review the data of your district, you should also look at the urban and rural figures separately so as to maintain your focus. Analyse the data separately even in tier-2, tier-3 cities so that you can plan your strategy accordingly. It will also help you in dealing with corona in rural areas. I have also reached this position after doing something like you for a long time. My experience is that if the right thing is conveyed to the villagers on time, they follow it very religiously. We don’t have to make that much effort in implementing something in villages as compared to cities. Yes, there should be clarity. You should form a team in villages and you will see that they will give you the required results. Friends, Amid the second wave, concerns are being raised on the impact on youth and children due to mutations of the coronavirus. Though our ongoing strategy and the way you have worked have helped prevent this concern from becoming as serious, we have to be prepared for the future. The first thing you can do is to look at the nature of the infections among the youth and children at the district-level and collate data. I urge all the officers to do a separate analysis and assessment of this data which will help in preparing for the future. Friends, I also said in the last meeting that along with saving lives, our priority is to make the lives of people easier. Steps like facilities for free ration and other essential supplies for the poor and curb on black marketing are also necessary to win this fight and to move forward. You also have the advantage of past experiences and motivation for the success of previous efforts. I am confident that all of you will succeed in making your respective districts free of infection. We will succeed in saving the lives of the citizens of the country and making the country victorious.Today I have had the opportunity to listen to some colleagues, but everyone of you has some success stories. You have all done very good innovative experiments. If you can make them available to me, I will definitely be able to take it across the country. No matter how much you intellectually debate, the on-the-field experiences and methods employed thereafter are very powerful. Your role is immense, and therefore, I request you to share your experiences. Secondly, no one had to face such a huge crisis in the last hundred years. Your responsibility is huge in your district. You must have observed a lot of things, the human mind, the limitations of the system, and you must have also set new records by optimum utilization of the resources. Whenever you get a chance, definitely write it down in your diary. Your experiences will be useful to future generations because there are not as many records of the serious pandemic that took place a hundred years ago as to what was its form, how acute the crisis was, what happened where, what were the methods employed to tide over the crisis. But if our district officers prepare it like the district gazette today, then our hard work and our experiences will also be useful for generations to come. And I congratulate you and your team the way you have led it for this success, for this hard work. I hope you will attain more success and will create confidence among the masses. The trust of the common man is the greatest lifeline of victory… Nothing can be bigger than this and you can do it easily. I understand the burden of work on you. With the arrival of the rainy season, another seasonal pressure is bound to increase. But in the midst of all this, you and your family should also be healthy. May your district be robust and every citizen healthy! May God fulfill your wish! Your hard work will do it. Many best wishes on my behalf. Many thanks.