New Delhi, Mar 22 (IANS): In a first of its kind, President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Cabinet Ministers, the Chief Ministers, other politicians and common people across India came together to thank coronavirus warriors and other essential services providers to contain the epidemic's spread.
The largest public 'appreciation' exercise in the country witnessed participation of the army, paramilitary forces, Bollywood personalities, television anchors and religious personage clapping and beating utensils at 5 p.m. on Sunday as called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the countrymen on Thursday.
The Prime Minister had called upon the people to clap or beat utensils for 5 minutes to express their gratitude to the people providing essential services, including sanitation employees, medical professionals, delivery boys, railways, airports and other transportation department employees and many more, who were serving without caring for their own comfort and safety to contain the coronavirus spread.
The Prime Minister had also appealed people to enforce 'janata curfew' between 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday to break the chain of spread of infection that has claimed over 6 lives and infected over 340 in India.
It has killed 13,049 and infected over 3.7 lakh across the globe.
The coronavirus warriors, like health professionals and others, who are taking care of ailing people and performing their duties of sanitizing Metros, trains and other public facilities in the country's fight against coronavirus.
President Kovind, First Lady Savita Kovind and Chief Ministers, like Yogi Aditya Nath (UP) and Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy (Andhra Pradesh), took part in the exercise.
Amitabh Bachchan as well as many other Bollywood personalities too participated in the 'thanking' exercise.
With the number of coronavirus rising, state governments are set to issue orders to allow only essential services in about 75 districts with confirmed Covid-19 cases. It was decided at a meeting Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba and P.K. Misra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, here on Sunday, with the Chief Secretaries of states.