Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, May 31 that the poor and labourers have been hit the hardest by the coronavirus crisis and that their pain cannot be explained in words.
In his monthly ''Mann ki Baat'' broadcast, Modi said all classes of people have suffered during the pandemic but it is the poor who have suffered the worst. Everyone is working to help them, he said and highlighted the railways'' exercise to transport huge numbers of migrant workers to their home.
Here are other key takeaways from PM Modi's Mann ki baat
- Extra precautions: The prime minister also asked people to be "extra careful" and stick to precautions like maintaining social distance and wearing masks as the economy gradually opens up.
- On Economy: He noted that a big part of the economy has reopened, with railway and air traffic being resumed partially and set to be scaled up in the coming days.
- Migrant crisis: The problem suffered by the poor during the crisis has been a reason for introspection and served lessons for future, he said, noting it has underscored the pain of the country's eastern region which has lagged behind other regions in development.
- Amphan cyclone: In this hour of crisis, the country is standing with the people of West Bengal and Odisha
- Ayushman Bharat: A few days ago, no.of Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries crossed over 1 cr. If the poor had to pay for their treatments in the hospital, if they weren't treated for free then they had to spend somewhat around Rs 14,000 cr. Ayushman Bharat has saved money of poor.
- India faring well: When we look at other countries, we realise how big is the achievement of Indians. Our population is many times more than other countries, challenges are different still COVID-19 didn't spread so rapidly as in other countries and the fatality rate is also notably lower.
- Facing multiple crises: While the eastern part of India is facing natural calamity caused by cyclone, many parts of the country are under locus attack. These attacks have reminded us how much damage this small insect can cause. Locust attack runs into several days, a huge area gets affected
