Establishing direct communication to ensure local participation, UP CM Yogi Adityanath has written a personal letter to all the ‘gram pradhans’ (village chiefs) requesting them to intensify preventive measures in view of a probable third Covid-19 wave.

Adityanath made a four-point appeal to the new rural officials, saying, “We have to save people’s lives as well as their livelihoods.”

Stating that Uttar Pradesh has been able to control the second wave of Covid-19, he asked the gram pradhans to ensure proper surveillance through the ‘surveillance committees’ that have played a vital role in timely identification and isolation of Covid patients, curbing further spread in rural regions. Adityanath also advised the village heads to engage in mass plantation drives across their respective villages to ensure no land is left vacant.

Concerned about any further Covid-19 spread in rural areas, the Chief Minister in his letter appealed to newly elected gram pradhans to generate awareness about the novel coronavirus, prepare to save villagers from communicable diseases during the upcoming rainy season and ensure that everyone follows Covid appropriate behaviour to remove any chance of increased transmission of the virus.

Written in Hindi with a personal touch, the CM says in his letter, “Dear pradhanji, I would like to extend my best greetings on your victory. I urge you to help prevent a third Covid wave in your respective villages with an aim to realise Hon’ble PM’s dream of ‘Mera Gaon Corona Mukt Gaon’.”

The CM also made a special request to the Pradhans in his one-page letter to implement a four-pronged strategy beginning with, prevention of illness and promotion of wellness through ‘Sanitation’ and mass-scale cleanliness campaigns. Second, to curb the spread of COVID-19 infection and other communicable diseases through regular ‘Sanitisation’, the third is to encourage vaccination by spreading awareness and fourth is to ensure timely distribution of ‘special medicine kits’ with syrups and chewable tablets for children at doorstep of every child showing influenza-like symptoms like cold and cough by over 4 lakh members of more than 60,569 surveillance committees constituted by the Government specially for rural areas from June 27.

“It is requested that every Village Head must ensure supply of clean potable water, usage of masks and frequent washing of hands,” the letter adds.

The letters, signed by the Chief Minister, have been hand-delivered to the pradhans through respective authorities in the districts.

“Make people aware so that they get tested and vaccinated and get them registered for vaccinations in order to provide every citizen a safety shield against the virus,” the letter concluded.

Providing the much-needed empathic leadership, the Chief Minister also called tackling the pandemic as the work of a unified ‘team of 24 crore’.