National lockdown a necessity to save millions of lives: Punjab CM

Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for a 21-day national lockdown starting midnight to contain the novel coronavirus, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh said it was indeed a necessity to save millions of lives from the deadly virus. At the same time, he stressed that the government should support poor people and daily wagers to survive the lockdown.

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday termed the 21-day national lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi a 'necessity' to save millions of lives from the deadly COVID-19, but lamented the Centre’s failure to announce an immediate relief package for lakhs of poor people and daily wagers who need government support to survive the lockdown.

Reacting to PM's announcement, the Chief Minister said it was imperative to break the chain of coronavirus transmission, for which such extreme steps were necessary. However, it was equally important, he said, to support those left with no means to fulfil their daily basic needs.

The Chief Minister, while welcoming the Rs 15,000 crore allocation by the Centre to upgrade the health, medical and research facilities in the country, urged the Prime Minister to also come out with a comprehensive package immediately to ensure that the citizens of India are not deprived of basic essential services in these 3 weeks.

At the same time, Captain Amarinder urged the people to pledge themselves to fight the COVID war by staying at home, thus protecting themselves, their families, their relatives & friends, and also lakhs of doctors/nurses/paramedical staff, the police, the media and other service providers who were working 24X7 in the face of extreme risk.

Tough times require tough actions, said Captain Amarinder, appealing to the people to cooperate with the central and state governments to combat the crisis, for which his government had already imposed a curfew in Punjab yesterday. Though some difficulties would be faced by one and all during this critical period, it would eventually be in the interest of everyone, he added, calling upon the people not to violate the curfew/lockdown or take the law into their own hands.