With COVID--19 cases in villages, Assam government will set up war rooms in every Goan panchayat

With COVID--19 cases in villages, Assam government will set up war rooms in every Goan panchayat.

“We should render our services with an aim to make our villages COVID-19 free. To be safe we must maintain social distancing and at the same time we should try to reduce our emotional distance. Only then we can serve with full dedication to curb this grave pandemic situation.”—stated Ranjeet Kr. Dass, the Minister, Panchayat and Rural Development (P&RD), Assam while addressing the Goan Panchayat (GP)Presidents-Secretaries and other field officials of P&RD, Assam in a webinar from P&RD Commissionerate regarding containment and prevention of COVID-19.

Dass said that though the disease was earlier confined in the urban areas, with time it has spread to the rural areas too. Therefore, as frontline workers for the development of villages, Gaon Panchayats have to play a pivotal role in the fight against COVID-19.


He said that the fight against COVID-19 should be taken up as a Jan Andolan (peoples movement).For this, the Minister emphasized that the GPs have to be proactive. They have to take initiative for conduct of COVID tests for individuals in the villages. Moreover, they have to identify the causes for the spread of the virus and take preventive measures to curb and eliminate the possibility of COVID-19 transmission in the villages, for which the panchayats need to extend necessary help to the active cases, sanitise the GP areas, ensure tests for the migrant people, distribute free masks to the needy etc.

He also advised the GP Presidents and Secretaries to prepare a detailed plan for the above works. In the meeting, the Minister announced that to carry out the preventive measures to fight with the pandemic, 10% of the untied fund of the first installment under the 15th Finance Commission Grants has been allocated. He also emphasized on cent percent fruitful utilization of this fund.

Dass also advocated for establishing a ‘War Room’ in every GP. He directed the GPs to take up an awareness campaign regarding COVID-19 protocol like wearing of face masks, maintaining social distance, frequent hand washing and use of sanitiser. In this regard, the GPs may also mobilize the women SHGs for helping in the fight against COVID-19.