Rajnath appeals to people to make 'Janata curfew' huge success

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday appealed to the people to make 'Janata curfew' a huge success by staying at home on Sunday.

Singh said collective action is the need of the hour to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged Indians to stay at home from 7 am to 9 pm on Sunday to practice social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In his address to the nation on Thursday, he had termed the Sunday's stay at home activity as 'Janata curfew'.

The defence minister said there was no need to panic and the government was taking all necessary measures in a calibrated manner to fight the pandemic, according to an official statement.

He assured that the armed forces are fully mobilised to assist the civilian authorities to tide over the crisis.

"Singh appreciated the efforts of the various arms and services of the armed forces which have been proactive in evacuating people from COVID-19 affected countries such as China, Iran, Italy & Japan and sheltering them at various quarantine facilities," the statement said.

From February 1, 2020 till date, the Indian Air Force has evacuated 1,059 people, including five foreigners, and quarantined them at the facilities in Manesar (Haryana), Hindan (Uttar Pradesh), Ghatkopar (Maharashtra) and Jaisalmer (Rajasthan).

The Indian Navy has set up a quarantine camp at INS Vishwakarma in Vishakhapatnam, which is fully equipped to accommodate nearly 200 personnel, the government statement said.

Isolation facilities have also been set up at INHS Asvini - one of the first Navy hospitals in India - at Mumbai.

"The Naval base, Kochi under Southern Naval Command (SNC), is gearing up to provide quarantine facilities for Indian nationals," the statement said.

The SNC is also actively coordinating with Kerala state health officials and Ernakulam district administration to explore the feasibility of provisioning civil hotels and resorts for quarantining, according to the statement.

Besides, all Army hospitals have been kept on alert to meet any eventuality.

In addition to the operational quarantine centres, more facilities have been readied and may be made operational within 48-72 hours, if needed, the statement said.

"These facilities are at Jodhpur (Army), Kolkata (Army), Chennai (Army), Visakhapatnam (Navy), Kochi (Navy), Dundigal near Hyderabad (IAF), Bengaluru (IAF), Kanpur (IAF), Jaisalmer (IAF), Jorhat (IAF) and Gorakhpur (IAF)," it added.