Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday urged BJP workers to strive for creating extensive awareness on vaccination in districts where it was lacking and people were hesitant to get vaccinated.
Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Gandhi Bhavan, the GMIT Central Library and the Karnataka State Police Public School (established at Kondajji) on the campus of GM Institute of Technology in Davangere, Mr. Shah said that it was high time one understood that 100% vaccination is the only solution to fight the pandemic. He urged BJP workers to convince people and take them to vaccination centres.
Mr. Shah elaborated on steps taken by the Union government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fight the pandemic. He said that under Mr. Modi, the country had fought the pandemic effectively. He said that the country has been able to come out of the effects of the pandemic to some extent because 130 crore citizens joined hands with with Mr. Modi. Lakhs of corona warriors, including doctors and safai karamcharis, fought with him, while several lost their lives and others had sacrificed their lives. While the lives of some could not be saved, the collective steps helped in saving the lives of many, he said.
He said that the biggest vaccination drive in the entire world is being run in the country with over one crore doses being given per day. As on date, the country has administered the highest number of vaccine doses in the world. On the Karnataka vaccination figures, he said that he was confident that the State will be covering 90% of the population by September-end under Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s leadership. Already 5.20 crore people have been vaccinated of whom 1.20 crore people have received the second dose also.
Mr. Shah elaborated on the food kits distribution scheme of the Union government. During the first and second wave from May to November, 80 crore people were covered and five kilograms of foodgrains were given to households for 10 months as the government wanted to ensure that nobody suffered due to hunger during the pandemic. He said that because of the measures taken so far, the country is in a better position to fight the next wave of the pandemic, if any.
As oxygen plants have been set up in view of oxygen shortage during the second wave, the country will be able to become self-reliant within a short time if any further wave of the pandemic struck, he said.
Apart from Mr. Bommai, the function was attended by Home Minister Araga Jnanendra and Ministers C.C. Patil, B. Basavaraj, Murugesh Nirani, Anand Singh, Member of Parliament G.M. Siddeshwar and Member of Legislative Assembly Ravindranath and others.
