COVID-19: CM Thackeray lauds 21-year old sarpanch who made his village corona-free

The Maharashtra government on Sunday decided to extend the ongoing lockdown in the state by 15 days till June 15. "Lockdown is being extended for 15 days, shall be in place till June 15 now. Depending on the case tally of districts, certain relaxations and restrictions will be enforced," Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said.

Thackeray in his address to the state on Sunday announced a ‘Corona-free village’ drive to check the spread of COVID-19 in rural areas and appreciated 3 Sarpanches of the state.

“For some reason, there has been a gradual increase in cases in some districts in the rural parts of the State. If every citizen here resolves to keep his or her home corona-free, then eventually their village, and ultimately the State, will be free of the scourge of the virus. Popatrao Pawar in Hiwre Bazaar, Ruturaj Deshmukh in Mohol, and Komal Karpe from Solapur have made their villages corona-free. If they have been able to manage this, why not other headmen of other villages?” he asked.

Ghatne, a village in Mohol Taluka in Maharashtra's Solapur has successfully managed to contain COVID-19 cases after a campaign was launched to raise awareness among the villagers. Rituraj Deshmukh, the village's 21-year old Sarpanch gathered the elders and proposed a campaign - Be positive. Apna gaon corona negative - to combat the spread of the virus.

As part of the campaign, villagers underwent free COVID-19 tests with the help of ASHA workers, and a close check was kept on their oxygen levels.

"After one person died of COVID, a dull atmosphere of fear was all around the village. People were terrified that they would contract the virus. Many wanted to leave. When we launched the campaign, I told people to have courage and not leave the village," Deshmukh told ANI.

He added, "We checked peoples' temperatures every day, distributed masks, sanitisers and soaps and educated people on the importance of maintaining hygiene. We also spread awareness on social distancing and how to treat a person who was sick."

Rather than fearing COVID-19, the people of village Ghatne fought it, and today, there is not a single active case in the village.