PUDUCHERRY: With covid-19 pandemic becoming severe by the day, former Chief Minister of Puducherry and former Union minister of state V Narayanasamy urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately declare total lockdown in the country, so that the chain of transmission of the virus can be controlled.
He also sought the release a financial package of Rs 6,000 per month to be given to the families of individuals who are living without employment during the crisis.
In a letter to Prime minister on Saturday, Narayanasamy pointed out that in the last one week more than 4 lakh people have been affected by COVID and about 3,700 to 4,000 people are dying everyday.
He noted that it was due to the shortage of oxygen in hospitals and non-availability of oxygen beds, ICU beds in government-run and private medical colleges and hospitals.
"Patients' relatives are running to various hospitals while their kin lies in the ambulances, cars and auto-rickshaws with oxygen cylinders. The unprecedented second wave of COVID-19 has taken the lives of younger people as well. The supply of vaccines from manufacturers is not adequate which is why the vaccination program is caught in a slow phase. Everyday bodies of those who lost their lives to COVID-19 are piling up," he added.
He also mentioned that the pandemic has affected the Indian economy adversely. He noted that the economy is suffering due to unemployment and unorganized labour.
Addint that crores of people have stopped earning and many have lost their jobs leaving several families struggling for financial support, he urged PM Modi to immediately release a financial package to those families.
He also referred to party leader Rahul Gandhi's appeal to the Government of India to go for a full lockdown for at least 15 days to a month in order to stop the spread of the virus.