- By Aalok Sensharma
- Sat, 11 Apr 2020 04:53 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: Amid the spiking number of coronavirus cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held his second meeting with chief ministers of all states to decide whether the 21-day lockdown should be extended or not.
“Jaan hai to jahan hai. When I had addressed the nation I had said that to save life of every citizen, lockdown and social distancing are very important. Most of the people understood this and stayed at home,” said PM Modi, who was wearing a homemade mask during the interaction. He was accompanied by some senior officials, including from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said that PM Modi in the meeting emphasised the criticality of coming three-four weeks for determining the impact of the steps taken till now to contain the virus, adding that teamwork is the key to facing the challenge.
"PM suggested that direct marketing for farm produce can be incentivised to prevent crowding in mandis, for which model APMC laws should be reformed swiftly. Such steps will help farmers sell products at their doorstep," the PMO said in a statement.
After the video conference, sources -- quoted by news agency ANI -- said that the "states requested PM Modi to extend the lockdown for two more weeks and the Centre is considering this request".
In his meeting with state CMs, PM Modi sought their views on various aspects, including whether more categories of people and services need to be exempted.
The Prime Minister also obtained views on the issue from all the relevant agencies and stakeholders involved in the efforts to contain the spread of the dreadful infection.
According to reports, Delhi and Punjab chief ministers urged the prime minister to extend the lockdown by at least a fortnight after April 14.
“CM Captain Amarinder Singh, in PM's video-conferencing with CMs, recommended extension of national lockdown by at least a fortnight in addition to special concessions for industry and agriculture sectors urgently. He also asked for faster supply of rapid testing kits,” Punjab Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said, as reported by news agency ANI.
As of now, Punjab and Odisha are the only states in India which have announced extending the lockdown beyond April 14 when the current spell of 21-day shutdown ends on Tuesday.
This is for the second time the prime minister is interacting with the chief ministers via video link after the lockdown was imposed. During his April 2 interaction with chief ministers, Modi had pitched for a "staggered" exit from the ongoing lockdown.
According to an official statement, PM Modi had said that states, district administrations and experts have suggested extension of the lockdown to contain the spread of the virus.
He had made it clear that the lockdown cannot be lifted in one go, asserting that the priority of his government is to "save each and every life".
Before the lockdown was announced on March 24, the prime minister had interacted with the chief ministers on March 20 to discuss ways and means to check the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The novel coronavirus has affected over 7,000 people and claimed the lives of 239 people in the country so far.
(With PTI Inputs)