On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a video message wherein he urger each and every citizen of the country who are under a lockdown to switch off the lights of their homes and hold candles, small lamps (Diye) and flashlights on Sunday, April 5 at 9:00 PM for 9 minutes showcasing the solidarity during the fight against the novel Coronavirus.
Asserting how necessary it is to make sure nobody feels left alone, PM Modi says, “On April 5, Sunday, at 9 pm, please switch off all the lights in your house and each person should stand with a candle, lamp or mobile flashlights in your hands, on your balconies for 9 minutes,”.
He adds, “I have one more prayer to all of you, nobody has to gather at any place during this event. Everyone will light a diya (small lamp) only at their doors, windows or balconies. The Laxman Rekha (boundary) of social distancing must be followed,”.
PM Modi also said we should remember that “We are not alone during the lockdown, the collective strength of 130 crore Indians is with every citizen,”.
He asserted that nobody should come to the roads or even outside their homes. “The most important thing in all this is to do so within the confines of our homes and balconies. No one should come out on the streets, at no point of time in this exercise should we come out on the streets, maintaining social distancing is the most important thing to do. The only way to break the chain of coronavirus is to maintain social distancing,”.
In the previous call for the Janata Curfew on the 22nd March, Sunday, the gesture of applauding for the warriors of Coronavirus defeated the purpose of social distancing when a handful of people gathered on roads and outside their homes at various places throughout India.
Prime Minister Modi said, “We must all go through this darkness together… those who are most affected by this are the poor and the marginalised. To overcome this darkness, we must all unite to spread the light… make this darkness of coronavirus meet the light we all spread,”.
A video messsage to my fellow Indians. https://t.co/rcS97tTFrH
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 3, 2020
This is the 3rd time where PM Modi has addressed the nation since the Coronavirus pandemic became a serious concern in the country. In his first address, he called for a self curfew. In the second address on the 24th March, he announced the nationwide lockdown for 21 days to contain the spread of the novel Coronavirus.
He kept a steady stream of tweets where he urged the people in India to abide by social distancing and strictly follow the rules of the lockdown.
In the past few days, PM Narendra Modi has shared videos on Yoga for people to try infusing it into their life especially during the lockdown period.
As of now, India has reported over 2,500 cases of Coronavirus out of which 72 people have lost their lives.
On Thursday afternoon, PM Modi had a video meeting with the Chief Ministers of all the states and asked them to form a common plan to make sure that staggered movement of people ends. Requesting the states to come forward with suggestions, he emphasisied that is of paramount importance “to formulate a common exit strategy to ensure staggered re-emergence of the population once the lockdown ends,”.
