Sarpanchs of Covid-free villages share success stories with Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray

NAGPUR: Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday congratulated sarpanchs from Nagpur, Bhandara, Washim and other districts in Vidarbha for controlling the Covid-19 spread in their respective villages. At a teleconference with the CM, the sarpanchs shared their success stories which can inspire villages still fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
Moreshwar Gajibhiye, sarpanch of Shahpur village on Nagpur-Bhandara highway said that his village is now Covid-free.“On May 31, we had 231 positive cases and total 11 people have died in Shahpur. Now, the situation is under control and the positivity rate is zero. More than 90% of villagers above 45 years of age have been vaccinated,” he said.
From Nagpur district, sarpanchs of two tribal villages – Pimpaldhara and Shirpur — interacted with the CM. Shirpur’s sarpanch Gaurishankar Gajbhiye explained how they kept the village Covid-free right from the beginning. Nalini Sherkure, sSarpanch of Pimpaldhara, said that two of four villages in her group gram panchayat still have zero Covid cases.
In Washim district, sarpanch Gajanan Wankhede of Govardhan village in Risod tehsil told the CM that his village with a population of 3,900 had 509 active Covid-19 cases on April 15. “We decided to conduct door-to-door survey. Each and every villager got tested with RT-PCR test. Regular disinfection exercise, and Covid appropriate behaviour by villages made us Covid-free on May 26. Today, Govardhan has no Covid patient,” said Wankhede.
From Akola, sarpanch of Kapshi village, Ambadas Umale, while from Buldhana sarpanch of Dhamangaon Badhe, Jitan Sheikh Alim Qureishi, joined the discussion.