President and Vice President hold discussions with Governors, LGs and Administrators of States & UTs on COVID-19 response

New Delhi, Mar 27

     The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, along with the Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, today held a video-conference with all Governors, Lieutenant Governors and Administrators of all States and Union Territories to find ways to complement the efforts of the Government of India and the State Governments in meeting the challenges arising from the outbreak of COVID-19. Preparedness / measures regarding COVID-19 were reviewed during this video-conference.

     The Lt. Governor, A&N Islands and Vice-Chairman, Islands Development Agency, Admiral D K Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, NM, VSM (Retd.) also participated in the video conferencing.

     The President began the conference by exhorting to the collective strength of the society and urged Governors, LGs and Administrators to mobilize volunteers of Indian Red Cross society, voluntary and religious organizations to contain the menace at the earliest.

    President Shri Kovind and Vice President Shri Naidu expressed hope that the Indian society’s inherent strength of “sharing and caring” and the government’s measures would mitigate the sufferings of the most vulnerable sections of the society, particularly the workers of the unorganised sectors and the destitute.    

     The video conference was conducted by the Vice President and it brought out the best practices initiated by various States to mitigate the people’s plight while enforcing the lock down in the country.

     The discussions related to the status of COVID-19 in the States, the role of the Red Cross with focus on vulnerable sections, and the role of civil society/voluntary organisations in complementing the efforts of the Union and State governments to contain the spread of the Novel Coronavirus, especially with the lockdown and other challenges emerging from the evolving situation.

        While summing up the conference, President Shri Kovind urged everyone to hold regular stock-taking with the state government and make contributions in a way that the battle again the Coronavirus could be taken to a logical end. He also said that based on these experiences, the best practices can be emulated in other parts of the country.