Following a spike in COVID-19 cases in Madhya Pradesh and subsequent restrictions, the state government declared on Monday that all deserving beneficiaries would get free rations for the next three months. The government has requested that authorities use the National Security Act (NSA) to prosecute those involved in the illegal trade of life-saving anti-viral drugs.
At a video conferencing conference with district collectors, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan made the announcement. The meeting was held to assess the state’s coronavirus situation, which has seen a spike in cases in recent weeks, prompting officials to enforce a slew of restrictions on people’s travel and non-essential practices.
He explained that, in the event of a pandemic, the entire three-month supply of foodgrains can be harvested in one go, avoiding regular trips to ration shops set up under the public distribution system (PDS). Both registered low-income residents of the state will receive a free three-month ration from fair-priced stores (PDS outlets).
He assured the district collectors that three months’ worth of rations would be issued together so that people wouldn’t have to go to those shops as much. Chouhan advised them to use the NSA, which allows for up to a year of detention without penalty for those engaged in the illegal distribution of critical substances.
Those that charge higher premiums for life-saving injections should not be spared, he added. Several people have been arrested in Bhopal, Indore, and other cities over the last week on suspicion of black selling Remdesivir, a main antiviral medication for treating COVID-19, whose demand has skyrocketed.
Chouhan claimed that capital would not be a problem in combating the pandemic. Efforts to provide enough medicinal oxygen for treating vital coronavirus patients in the state have been made on a war footing, he added.
Hospitals are now receiving Remdesivir injections on a regular basis, according to Chouhan. To monitor the spread of COVID-19, the chief minister instructed district collectors to create containment zones in affected areas under their authority.
