Chandigarh, Apr 24 (IANS): Punjab's youngest woman sarpanch, Pallavi Thakur, on Friday apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the steps initiated by the panchayats to strictly implement the lockdown to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking to the Prime Minister through a video conference on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day, she said that from the very first day of the lockdown, the panchayats have put barricades on the outskirts of the villages to prevent the entry of outsiders.
"No outsider is allowed to enter a village and no one from the village is allowed to go out without any valid reason or emergency," she said.
Pallavi is the sarpanch of Hara village in Dharkalan block in Pathankot district.
She said the Punjab government has made adequate arrangements for harvesting, procurement and transportation of wheat during the lockdown.
The government has set up grain markets by forming clusters of four to five villages for smooth procurement of wheat to check the spread of coronavirus.
Further, to prevent people from gathering in the grain markets, a hologram slip is being issued to the farmers with a date and only a farmer with a hologram slip can take the wheat to the grain market on the fixed date, she explained.
She apprised the Prime Minister that the panchayats were playing a vital role in ensuring compliance of the guidelines issued for the farmers, labourers and commission agents.
Pallavi also talked about a campaign launched to make people aware about the instructions on maintaining social distancing norms during harvesting, frequent washing of hands and using face masks in the fields and in the grain markets and not to use each other's utensils.
During the video conference, the Prime Minister said the farmers of the country, especially those in Punjab, have selflessly worked hard to fulfill the need for foodgrains in the country.
Modi also lauded the efforts of the farmers to provide food, milk and fruits to the people of the country during the lockdown. At the same time, he appealed to the farmers to reduce the consumption of urea by 50 per cent to save the Earth.