PM says self-reliance biggest lesson from pandemic, hails 'Do Gaz Ki Doori' mantra to combat virus

Applauding people for their grit in fighting the COVID-19 outbreak, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the biggest lesson the pandemic has taught India is to become self-reliant and complimented rural India for defining social distancing in simpler words, 'Do Gaz Ki Doori', to make people understand its importance.

Modi said skills and knowledge of people are put to test during the time of a crisis, but India's villages have displayed the best of their efforts to fight the pandemic.

"With its simple mantra of Do Gaz Ki Doori (maintaining distance of two yards), rural India has described social distancing in simple words, villages have showcased the best of their principles, traditional values to fight coronavirus," Modi, who had covered his face with a 'gamcha' while interacting with gram panchayat members via video conference, said.

The prime minister was interacting with gram panchayat heads and members to mark Panchayati Raj Divas on Friday. The programme was earlier slated to be held in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh but was held by a video bridge following the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Modi said the pandemic has thrown up new challenges which the country never faced before, but it also made people learn new things.

"The biggest message COVID-19 has given, the biggest lesson it has taught is to become self-reliant," Modi said, underlining that it is now imperative that villages also become self-reliant for their basic needs.

Every gram sabha, every block and every district needs to be self-reliant for its basic needs, he added.

Applauding people for observing lockdown rules, the prime minister said it is because of them, the entire world today is talking about how India has responded to the COVID-19 outbreak.

"COVID-19 is a huge crisis for the world but people of India have shown grit in this fight. We are fighting this and we are moving ahead with new ideas to tackle the virus," the prime minister asserted.

Despite limited resources amid the coronavirus crisis, citizens are taking on this challenge instead of succumbing to difficulties, he pointed out.

Heads and members of gram panchayats from across the country shared their experiences in handling the crisis and conveyed to the prime minister that people are religiously following the lockdown.

During the interaction, a gram panchyat member of Jammu and Kashmir said amid this crisis respect and suspect for the people should go in hand to ensure that spread of the virus is checked.

Modi also told them COVID-19 is an unique virus, it doesn't enter homes of the people on its own, "it is you who can bring it home then it spares one."