In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, March 19, appealed citizens to observe a “Janata curfew” on Sunday, March 22. He said everyone must stay home from 7 am to 9 pm on Sunday.
“This Sunday, that is on 22 March, all citizens must follow this curfew from 7 am until 9 pm. During this curfew, we shall neither leave our homes nor get onto the streets and refrain from roaming about in our societies or areas. Only those associated with emergency and essential services may leave their homes,” PM Modi said.
But what does Janata Curfew means? Here are some points from PM’s speech to explain the term.
1. The Janata Curfew is a curfew that the citizens will enforce on themselves on Sunday, starting from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm.
2. PM Modi urged the citizens to stay indoors as get out only in there is an urgency. He also asked people to refrain from going to public places on Sunday, March 22.
3. People working in emergency services such as police, medical services, media, home delivery, fire fighting and serving the nation etc will be excluded from the Janata Curfew.
4. The PM has also requested all the citizens to stand at their doorways and clap for people working in essential services at 5:00 pm on Sunday, to honour their services in the times of coronavirus.
The PM’s address to the nation comes amidst 173 cases of the novel coronavirus being reported from India. The Prime Minister, in his address to the nation, he said that coronavirus has affected more countries than World War I and II.
He said that the Sunday exercise would help people to get familiarised with self-isolation. people get used to self-isolating. “I want the next few weeks from you, I want your time,” he said.
“There is no cure for this, so we need to remain healthy. We need to avoid crowds and stay home. Social distancing is critical. If you think you can roam around as usual and feel you will not be at risk, this is incorrect; you are endangering yourself and your family,” he added.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister also appealed people to avoid hoarding and panic buying. “I want to reassure that all steps are being taken to ensure that the supply of milk, medicines and food does not stop. Do not hoard, be sensitive towards the need of others,” he said.