Covid third wave: This tribal area teaches how to give a ‘No Entry’ to corona

Jaipur : A small tribal cluster in Rajasthan’s Dungarpur is basking in glory for checking the second wave of the coronavirus smartly. It stands tall for giving a ‘No Entry’ to corona in its periphery and hence can be a learning lesson for all at a time when the third wave of the pandemic remains a strong possibility, said health officials, adding that the villagers here have started collecting money to buy oxygen concentrators.A gram panchayat Galiyakot had zero Covid patients even at a time when the second wave of Covid was knocking at the doors in neighbouring villages.District collector Suresh Ola says that the reason for it is the alacrity and awareness of the villagers who cooperated with the administration to win the war against Covid.Four villages in this gram panchayat namely Limbadiya, Debriya, Gediya and Ratanpura followed all Covid guidelines. The villagers wore masks and maintained social distancing and hence recorded zero Covid patients.Zila Parishad chief executive officer Anjali Rajauriya said that the village administration, core committee group and villagers worked as a team to block Covid’s entry in their area and were successful in their attempts.
Besides this, another gram panchayat Saroda also scripted a success story by taking quick steps to check the spread of Covid.Rajoriya said that three villages namely Saroda, Damorwada and Kesarpura with a population of around 9,000 come under this gram panchayat.A total of 85 villagers became Covid infected together which set off alarm bells as there were chances that surrounding populations will catch the infection. However, the village panchayat announced a lockdown for 15 days even before the state government. The entire village was sanitised and the first lockdown was announced there from May 3 to 17.Each household was given masks, oximeters, sanitiser and streamers.Testing, tracing and treatment followed to check the infection, said village secretary Bhavesh Patidar.A door-to-door survey was done, helpline centre was set up and medical kit was home delivered when required.One thousand packets of Kadha were distributed in houses.In Saroda, a WhatsApp group was organised and Rs 1.21 lakh was collected. These funds were used to buy sanitisers, masks etc.This village panchayat is also preparing for the third wave and saving money to buy oxygen concentrators, said health officials.So the combined efforts of the villagers and the administration helped keep Covid at bay which can be a learning lesson for all, they added.