Warangal village takes tough steps to contain Covid-19 spread

Ch Sushil Rao / TNN / Updated: Jul 10, 2020, 09:35 IST

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Warangal village takes tough steps to contain Covid-19 spread

Photo for representative purpose only

HYDERABAD: A village in Warangal rural district is raising the bar by enforcing stringent curbs to break the chain of coronavirus spread. If people of Deshaipally step out without a mask, they would be doing so at their own risk as their PDS ration and pensions will be cut for the month.
Not just this. No outsider will be allowed into the village. If a villager has some work in Hyderabad, 183 km away, he or she must come back to Deshaipally by 4pm.

“It would be better if they do not go there at all,” village sarpanch Posham Poshalu told TOI.

But what made the village go into a self-imposed lockdown? “We made the rules strict after a Covid-19 case was detected in a village, 5 km away, recently,” the sarpanch said. “If people are found not wearing a mask, the gram panchayat will impose a hefty fine also,” he warns.

Asked if the panchayat has the powers stop pensions or rations, he agreed government benefits cannot be denied. “But, we can take liberty in delaying them if the person refuses to cooperate with the entire village. The name of the person who is not wearing a mask will be given to the person who comes to disburse pensions. We will ask for the person’s pension to be released only after taking an assurance that he or she will follow the rules and wear the mask,” the sarpanch said.

Warangal rural was least affected by the pandemic in the entire state with only 48 cases reported from March till June-end. However, the number of positive cases spiked to 67 between July 1-7, sending alarm bells ringing.
This has led to villagers and local panchayats to take tough decisions on their own to enforce measures to curb the spread of the virus. “We have to keep our village safe. So, strict measures have to be enforced,” explained former sarpanch B Shoban.
Chipping in, the sarpanch said people cannot afford to be negligent as the virus spread had been rapid in recent times. “We are telling the villagers that they won’t get pensions or rations if do not follow the Covid-19 guidelines. But, this is mainly to make them fall in line,” he added.

About the Author

Ch Sushil Rao

Sushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyderabad. He began his journalism career at the age of 20 in 1988. He is a gold medalist in journalism from the Department of Communication and Journalism, Arts College, Osmania University, Hyderabad from where he did his post-graduation from. He has been with The Times of India’s Hyderabad edition since its launch in 2000. He has also done an introductory course in film studies from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and also from the Central University of Kerala equipping himself with the knowledge of filmmaking for film criticism. He has authored four books. In his career spanning 34 years, he has worked for five newspapers and has also done television reporting. He was also a web journalist during internet’s infancy in the mid 1990s in India. He covers defence, politics, diaspora, innovation, administration, the film industry, Hyderabad city and Telangana state, and human interest stories. He is also a podcaster, blogger, does video reporting and makes documentaries.

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