Senior district officials on Tuesday morning tied masks to the statues of freedom fighters across East Godavari district in a bid to spread awareness on the need to curb the spread of COVID-19 by diligently following safety protocols.
District Collector D. Muralidhar Reddy, Joint Collectors G. Lakshmisha and Ch. Kirthi and Kakinada Municipal Commissioner Swapnil Dinakar took part in the novel initiative, and exhorted the public to wear masks at all times and maintain physical distancing.
“It is strange that people are reluctant to wear masks even as the district is reporting over a thousand COVID cases every day for the past few days,” Mr. Muralidhar Reddy told reporters after tying a mask to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Collectorate.
“Through this initiative, we hope people understand the significance of taking precautionary measures in order to prevent the spread of the pandemic,” he added.
“It is high time that we show discipline by wearing masks and maintaining physical distancing in public places. People can now draw inspiration from freedom fighters,” the Collector said.
The Collector asked his colleagues to tie masks to statues of freedom fighters across the district in their respective areas.
By Tuesday afternoon, statues of many freedom fighters erected in public places and government officials were seen sporting masks tied to them by district officials.
