Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday expressed concern that the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading to rural areas but asserted that the government was working on a “war footing” to tackle the crisis. Striking an emotional note, he said people had lost their near and dear ones to the “invisible enemy” of coronavirus. “The pain that the countrymen have endured for some time, the pain that many people have gone through, I want to say that I feel your pain,” he stated.

Mr. Modi was speaking to a select group of farmers over video conference while releasing the eighth installment of more than ?19,000 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PMKSNY). Over 9.5 crore farmers are supposed to benefit from the income support scheme for farmers.

“After 100 years, such a terrible pandemic is testing the world at every step, we have an invisible enemy in front of us, which is in multi form…We are overcoming obstacles in resources in the fight against the second wave of coronavirus rapidly and efforts are being made to work on war footing mode,” he observed. Eighteen crore doses of vaccines had been given so far and the government “is making efforts that people get vaccinated at a fast pace.”

‘We will fight and win’
He said, “India is not a country that loses courage and resolve, we will fight and win. This pandemic is now spreading in our rural areas too. Every government in the country is trying its best to deal with the situation. In this, our panchayati raj institutions and systems attached to them are key to fighting the pandemic. Our farmers have never let down the country in times of need, and I am sure that in these challenging times you will continue this. Please follow and ask communities to follow all precautions related to coronavirus, report symptoms early, get yourself tested, isolate and start treatment even while waiting for results of the tests,” he said. “The one main way of fighting against the pandemic is to get vaccinated and I urge all of you to get yourself vaccinated when your turn comes.”


Medical professionals, scientists and armed forces were working day and night to fight against the pandemic and that supply of medicines was being increased by ramping up domestic manufacture and imports. “The government is setting up oxygen plants.” He asked that state governments to crack down on black-marketing of medicines and oxygen cylinders.

In the video conference, six farmers from various parts of the country interacted with the Prime Minister. West Bengal, for the first time, received the first instalment of the PMKSNY for seven lakh farmers. Earlier, the State and the Centre had had a tug of war over the list of beneficiaries being sent over.