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PM: Poor hit hard by virus, their pain beyond words

Anganwadi workers listen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’ during a door-to-door survey to check the spread of Covid-19 on the outskirts of Beawar on Sunday. PTI

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 31

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the poor and migrant labourers had been hit the hardest by the Covid pandemic and that their pain couldn’t be explained in words.

Pathankot man earns praise

Referring to stories of selfless service rendered by people during the crisis, PM Narendra Modi mentioned the humanitarian service rendered by one Bhai Raju, a resident of Pathankot in Punjab
Raju, who is physically challenged, collected Rs75,000 by begging and spent the entire amount on distributing 3,000 masks and ration to 100 distressed families during the lockdown period

“There is no section in our country unaffected by the difficulties caused by the affliction — the most gravely affected by the crisis are the underprivileged labourers and workers. Their agony, their pain, their ordeal cannot be expressed in words. Who amongst us cannot understand and feel what they and their families are going through,” Modi said in his monthly “Mann ki Baat” radio address.

The PM stressed the disease and its associated challenges were new and gigantic to the world community, including India, and the fight against the pandemic would be a long haul. He, however, commended the people of India for fighting the disease unitedly with fortitude and checking its spread. “The campaign against the disease is people-driven…. the world has taken note of India’s fight against the disease, and is anticipating innovative ways from it,” he said.

Extolling the virtues of India’s ancient discipline of ayruveda, Modi said world leaders had been evincing interest in it in the search for antidote to Covid during his interactions with them.

He said yoga has a suite of routine and postures to strengthen the respiratory and immune systems.

In the context of the pandemic and health issues, he said “Ayushman Bharat” had benefited more than one crore people, 80 per cent of them being from the rural area, and saved a total of Rs 14,000 crore which would have been incurred on medical treatment. Appealing for the success of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” campaign, he said there was a growing echo of “vocal for local”.

He said the government had taken measures to make the country “self-reliant”.