Be at Forefront in War against COVID-19, Naveen to Gram Panchayats

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today appealed to all Gram Panchayats to be at the forefront in the State’s war against coronavirus.

The Chief Minister, who had administered oath to all 6,798 Sarpanches of the State after giving them powers of district Collectors to prevent the spread of the COVID-19, took to Twitter on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Diwas today and appealed the Gram Panchayats to play a key role in the State’s war against the deadly virus and protect the villages from it.

“On Panchayati Raj Diwas, appeal all Gram Panchayats to be at the forefront in our war against COVID-19 and protect our villages from Coronavirus”, Naveen tweeted.

Biju Babu was a staunch advocate of decentralization of power and empowerment of Panchayats to strengthen democracy at grassroots. On #PanchayatiRajDiwas, appeal all Gram Panchayats to be at the forefront in our war against #COVID19 and protect our villages from #CoronaVirus. pic.twitter.com/kSRmebA0ib

— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) April 24, 2020

Highlighting the significance of Panchayati Raj system in the country, Naveen said, “Biju Babu was a staunch advocate of decentralization of power and empowerment of Panchayats to strengthen democracy at grassroots”.

At a time when the Corona pandemic has engulfed more than 80 percent of the globe, and governments all over the world are doing their best to stop the spread of Coronavirus, a systematic approach is needed to resolve the crisis. In a country like India where more than 70 percent of the people live in its villages, a rural centric approach is needed to manage the emergency.

In this context, the approach adopted by the Odisha Chief Minister by devolving the essential powers to the Panchayats is a welcome step that needs serious consideration by all fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.