New Delhi: On this day last year (March 22, 2020) India went into a ‘People’s Curfew’ ahead of the world’s most stringent lockdown against covid-19.
However, this year, the country is facing a second wave of infections, but with vaccines now available, experts are calling for a massive scale-up in the immunization programme to protect the vulnerable.
Monday marks the first anniversary of ‘Janta Curfew’ announced by Prime Minister Modi in his address to the nation and it comes at a time when India is in the grip of the second wave of the pandemic.
In his speech, PM Modi said, “Today, I seek some more cooperation from every citizen. It is Janta Curfew, a curfew for the people and imposed by the people themselves.”
In his address, the Prime Minister also urged people to come out in the balconies of their houses at 5pm and clang utensils for five minutes as a gesture of solidarity with each other and to express gratitude for the frontline warriors. Urging people to stay off the roads for a day, he said that emergency services would not come under the purview of the curfew.
The ‘Janta Curfew’ was largely successful as people voluntarily stayed off roads and away from public places.
On March 24, PM Modi announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown. Later, it was extended thrice, with the final phase beginning on May 18, and concluding on May 31. From June 1 onwards, the country started reopening gradually, in what was termed as ‘Unlock.’
Comments are closed.