MALAPPURAM: How about winning a gold coin as a reward for staying indoors during lockdown? Doesn’t it sound attractive when you consider the pain being taken and the sacrifices made? Hang on. There is refrigerator, washing machine and much more lined up as reward for your patience.At a time when the state governments across the country increasingly turn to the police force for enforcing the lockdown, Thazhekkode grama panchayat in Malappuram has introduced the interesting model to encourage the public to stay indoors.
Panchayat president A K Nazar said a set of prizes is on offer. The top three winners will be selected through a draw of lots from 1,500 selected people who have strictly followed guidelines.“Around 10,000 families live in 21 wards of our panchayat. We’ve appointed three rapid response teams (RRTs) in each of these wards. They’re closely watching the people’ movement,” said Nazar.
The panchayat decided to announce the rewards after it noticed that many people were violating the restrictions.“The draw of lots will be held after the end of the lockdown. The prizes were introduced to motivate the people,” he added. The panchayat is also running a contest for people staying indoors to get rid of the boredom. Those interested can send stories, poems and videos of monoact and mappilapattu performances to the panchayat.