Awareness campaign, speedy testing and vaccination will help check the spread of Covid-19 infection in rural areas of Jharkhand.

That was the general opinion expressed by the MPs and MLAs of the state during their three-day virtual meeting on the Covid situation that was initiated by chief minister Hemant Soren and began on Monday.

While the people’s representatives from Santhal Pargana and Palamau regions participated in the meeting on Monday, those from South Chotanagpur and Kolhan did so on Tuesday.

Others from North Chotanagpur region will attend the same on Wednesday.

“There is a lack of awareness among the villagers and they hardly use masks,” Jharkhand’s welfare minister Champai Soren pointed out on Tuesday, suggesting the

panchayat functionaries should be engaged for running an awareness campaign so that people take precautions for checking spread of Covid infection.

The minister also suggested that participation in functions like marriages should also be restricted and only those with negative reports should be allowed.

Neelkantha Singh Munda, BJP MLA from Khunti, agreed with the minister when he also suggested that panchayat functionaries be engaged for creating awareness among rural masses.

“There is a strong resentment against vaccination in rural areas,” he further said, adding that he knew cases when some deaths were said to be due to vaccination while those who died had not taken any vaccine at all.

Parliamentary affairs minister Alamgir Alam had also suggested that movement of people during upcoming Id should be restricted for checking spread of Covid infection in rural areas.

Dinesh William Marandi, MLA from Littipara in Pakur, however, said that testing was being done at their areas bordering Bengal.

V.D. Ram and Sunil Soren, BJP MPs from Palamau and Dumka respectively, also opined that lack of awareness had to be removed in rural areas and health infrastructures improved for tackling spread of the disease in rural areas.

“There should be ambulances with advanced facilities so that patients can be shifted to Ranchi from Palamau for better treatment safely,” Ram pointed out.

The chief minister, however, assured the government would provide two such ambulances to every districts of the state.

“There are many rural hospitals whose construction have been completed but

are lying unutilised as doctors and paramedics are yet to be employed,” pointed out

Sanjay Seth, BJP MP from Ranchi, adding that those could help improve rural health infrastructures if those are made functional by appointing doctors and others without delay.

Speaker Rabindranath Mahto also emphasised on strengthening the existing community health centres so that those could help treat patients in rural areas.

Some like Stephen Marandi, JMM MLA from Mahespur and Randhir Kumar Singh, BJP MLA from Sarath, stressed on increasing the number of testing in rural areas and providing the test reports fast.