Amaravati: Villages crack whip at maskless

Amaravati: With the surge in Covid cases in the State, several village panchayats have resolved to act sternly on those who are roaming without masks violating Covid guidelines. Most of the villages are observing the 'No mask no entry to village' policy. The villages are imposing a fine on those who break the rules and are keeping a tab on the entry of outsiders entering the villages.

Krishna District Collector A Md Imtiaz, who is personally visiting several Covid care centres and hospitals both in urban and rural areas daily, observed that "two weapons that are left with us now to face the situation: Covid appropriate behaviour adhering to Covid guidelines and massive vaccination programme". He stressed the need for changes in clinical treatment methods to meet the challenges from present Covid pandemic.

The collector told The Hans India that to top it all, everyone should follow self-discipline and self-control to contain the current Covid surge. He said village task force committees and mandal task force committees were formed to prevent the spread of Covid in rural areas.

Krishna district panchayat officer P Saibabu said that they were training village sarpanches and secretaries on Covid guidelines. Gram Sabhas were organised to promote the slogan of 'no mask no entry in the village'.

Sripati Bhanu Venkata Saikrishna of Pedaprolu village of Mopidevi mandal in Krishna district said that the villagers are strictly following guidelines, and no one is coming out without a mask. He said villagers are watching the movement of outsiders in the village.

Machilipatnam divisional panchayat officer Jyotirmayi said awareness has increased among villagers on the pandemic. She said that villages are voluntarily wearing masks with no necessity to impose a fine. The ANMs are monitoring the Covid positive cases and assisting them in admitting them to Covid care centres or hospitals.

A panchayat secretary M Praveen Kumar of Venkatakrishnapuram of West Godavari district said that the villagers have decided to impose a fine of Rs 100 on those who are coming out without wearing a mask. He said the shopkeepers were asked not to sell the provisions for those who failed to wear masks.

The panchayat secretary said that a total of eight Covid positive cases are present, including one home isolation case in the village. The Covid positive persons are admitted to Covid care centre at Narayanapuram near Bhimavaram.

Experts believe the increasing awareness of Covid-19 in rural areas will help in slowing the spread of disease in the coming days.