Chandigarh, November 22 - Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal today expressed his concern over the increasing cases of COVID-19 in Haryana while addressing the people of the state through live telecast. He assured the farmers of the state about the three new Farm Acts and also appealed to the State Government employees to avoid strikes or dharnas during this hour of crisis in the interest of the state.
The Chief Minister said that no one had heard about COVID-19 before the pandemic occurred in March just about nine months ago and did not even know the ways to get rid of it. In fact there was an atmosphere of fear among the people. He said that keeping this in mind, the Central Government led by Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi implemented lockdown 1, 2 and 3 after which the process of unlock started. During the lockdown, businesses suffered and in such a situation many workers had to return to their home states, he added. He said that in such adverse circumstances, the Government gave assistance of Rs 1200 crore to help the workers and poor people.
Mr. Manohar Lal said that now the third phase of COVID-19 has started and everyday about 2500 to 3000 people are getting infected in the state. He said that the experience of the last nine months teaches us to be careful and to fight this battle. He appealed to the people of the state to wear masks, maintain social distancing and keep taking some immunity booster so as to prevent getting infected. He also appealed to the people to keep four or five spare masks in their pockets at all times and whenever they see someone not wearing a mask, to give them the mask and ask them to wear it immediately. He said that the State Government is making provisions to provide masks in adequate quantity and the Health Department has been directed to make one crore masks. He said that the fine amount of Rs. 500 or Rs. 2000 for not wearing masks does not matter much as everything cannot be cured with penalty. But those who break the rules again and again must be punished, he added.
The Chief Minister said that today the State Government has adequate facilities and the death rate is also lower than other states. He said that the death rate in Haryana is 1.01 percent while it is 3.2 percent in Punjab. Similarly, our recovery rate is 90 percent and 35,000 tests are being done on daily basis in the state, he added. He said that so far, about 32 lakh people have been tested which is about 12.5 percent of the total population of the state. During the recent Sero Survey, it was found that 14 percent of the people had not even been tested and had recovered from being COVID-19 positive. The number of such people is about 35 lakh, he added. He said that 28 labs have been set up for testing of COVID-19 in the government hospitals of the state and 46,000 beds have been made available in view of increasing cases. In addition, 5 plasma banks have also been set up. He said that so far, 3729 persons have donated plasma and 2522 persons have been administered plasma.
Mr. Manohar Lal further said that since every child was not able to get the benefit of online education due to lack of resources, a decision had to be taken to re-open schools. But recently, schools have been closed till November 30, 2020 when quite a few students and teachers were found COVID-19 positive. Now whenever schools will be opened again, COVID-19 tests will be conducted in their houses or localities, he added.
On the possibility of imposing a lockdown again, the Chief Minister said it might create more problems. Elaborating on it further he said that during the first lockdown, markets, factories and businesses were closed thus we should ensure that there is no need to take such a step again.
Appealing to the farmers, Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal said that the farmers are being misguided by some political parties about the three Agricultural Laws and they should be careful. Mentioning that few Famers’ Associations have given a call to go to Delhi on the issue of the three Farm Acts, he said that now that the Acts had been enacted thus there was no need to hold protests. He said that the farmers need to understand that these three laws will not harm them in any way, on the contrary these laws will create new avenues for them and they will be able to sell their crops anywhere. In fact neither Mandis will be closed nor will Minimum Support Price (MSP) be discontinued due to these Laws. Moreover, despite the present situation crops like paddy, millet, moong, groundnut and cotton are being procured at Minimum Support Price (MSP) by the state. He assured the farmers that in this season paddy was procured on Minimum Support Price (MSP) and in the Rabi season wheat will also be purchased in the similar manner. He further added that many schemes have been started for agriculture and farmers' welfare under ‘Atamnirbhar Bharat'.
Sharing views on the issue of stubble burning, the Chief Minister said that earlier farmers had to burn stubble because there was no alternative. But today stubble is being used by Cardboard Factories and it is also being used as fuel and fodder. He further added that now stubble is being sold at the rate of Rs 1,500 MT.
He also appealed to the farmers to save water and called for growing alternative crops instead of paddy in water deficient areas.
Mr. Manohar Lal appreciated the contributions made by the employees during the COVID-19 period, saying that during this time the employees contributed crores of rupees which were being used to help the needy people. Also, he said that employees should stay away from strikes and dharnas during this time of crisis. This year, the revenue of the State Government has also decreased by Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 12,000 crores and it is not possible to accept new demands at this time, he added. He said that for the bright future of Haryana, many schemes are being developed through IT and many announcements will be made on the occasion of 'Good Governance Day' on December 25, 2020. He hoped that soon the situation will return to normal and Haryana will move forward with full pace on the path of development.