Chandigarh, April 10 - Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal urged the people of the State to not leave any stone unturned in the fight against COVID-19 and to fight this battle together. The person, who will fight this epidemic with all his efforts, will make a place for himself in history, he added.

The Chief Minister said this while addressing the people of the State on live television today. Sharing an anecdote about Battle of Khanwa fought between Rana Sanga and Babur’s forces, the Chief Minister appealed to the people of Mewat that all the Mewati brothers should fight together in the battle against COVID-19 like Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati fought against Babur's forces along with Rana Sanga. If Mewat is with us in the fight against this pandemic then there is no difficulty in driving away this disease from Mewat, he added. He also urged the people of district Nuh to show the strength to fight this battle.

Mr. Manohar Lal stress upon the importance of Mewat and urged the Maulvis that they should convince the people not to venture outside and to get themselves tested and to complete the 14-day quarantine period if somebody has returned or gone outside.

The Chief Minister said that in Haryana 13 out of 14 Italian patients had been discharged from the hospital after recovering fully. He appealed to the people of the state to wear masks and maintain social distancing when they leave the safety of their homes. Asha Workers, Anganwadi Workers, and Self Help Groups are also performing their duties with caution. Similarly, doctors, nursing staff, pharmaceutical staff, ambulance staff, lab technicians, class IV personnel, health services personnel, and police staff are vigorously implementing the lockdown system in the state. Similarly, employees and officers of Local Bodies, Panchayat Department, District Administration, public representatives, representatives from Business and Industries and volunteers of social organizations are also engaged in this work.

He further said that if 2.75 lakh employees of the State work for the 2.75 crore people of the state, then the work becomes easier. He said that in this hour of crisis, many social organizations and institutions are working day and night. Thikri Pehras have been set up in the villages, relief camps are being organised, and food is being provided to the poor and needy people.

The Chief Minister said that people have been lodged in relief camps in the cities too and so far about 70 lakh food packets have been distributed by the State Government and social organizations. The State Government is providing dry ration to the needy people. Apart from this, fodder and other food items are being provided to the gaushalas in the villages.

The Chief Minister said that so far Rs 72 crore has been contributed to Haryana Corona Relief Fund and the employees have also made their full contribution. In this series, more than 160 employees have contributed their one month's salary and similarly many Group-D employees have also given their monthly salary to the Corona Relief Fund.

During the address, the Chief Minister also interacted with some employees over the telephone. Naresh, a Group-D employee, a resident of village Pathredi, Ambala district, informed the Chief Minister that he has donated his one month’s salary to the Corona Relief Fund and he wishes to dedicatedly serve the needy people during this Pandemic. Naresh said that his father and wife inspired him to contribute to this noble cause.

Similarly, Shashi Bala, a Staff Nurse told the Chief Minister that she has also donated her one month's salary to the Corona Relief Fund in this hour of crisis. She said that as she works in the hospital and she sees that the many poor people visiting the hospital are financially weak, therefore she decided to help such people and contributed her salary.

Echoing the same sentiments, Ravi a constable, while talking to the Chief Minister said that because of his education, honesty, and police training, he felt that something should be done for the good of humanity, so he also donated one month's salary in the Corona Relief fund.

Sarla Devi, a JBT teacher, told the Chief Minister, "I have donated my 100 percent salary to the Haryana Corona Relief Fund.” Through Chief Minister, she made an appeal to the people to stay safe at their homes, “If you are safe, then the country is safe.”

The Chief Minister said that in this time of crisis we should all move forward with the society and help to eradicate this disease from Haryana and India. He said that many new initiatives have been undertaken in this fight against COVID-19 and in this series people of Karnal have started an initiative of ‘Adopt a Family’, under which one can adopt any family. Under this campaign, 400 people have made their contributions.

While urging the people of the State, the Chief Minister said that they too can help the poor and helpless people in some or the other way. He said that landlords should not charge two months' rent from such people. The government has also issued directions in this regard.

He shared that, Sarpanches, MLAs, and MPs have also offered to contribute their one month's salary in the Haryana Corona Relief Fund. Similarly, some former MLAs have also offered to contribute their one month’s pension. Apart from this, Ministers along with MLAs and MPs have also offered 30 percent cut in their salaries for the next one year.