Monday, 24 May 2021 | Vinod Chamoli | Tehri
Villagers have avoided infection by jointly observing guidelines
Even as Covid-19 is spreading to rural mountainous areas, there are still some villages untouched yet by the virus. Koldhar in Chamba block of Tehri district is one such village where not a single case of Covid-19 has surfaced yet. The steps taken by villagers to avoid the virus are being appreciated by neighbouring villages where people are now thinking of following suit. There are about 50 families in Koldhar with most of them involved in agriculture.
The self discipline of the villagers is one of the major reasons why no Covid case has been reported here so far. The villagers have been able to avoid the infection with a combination of awareness, discipline and maintaining hygienic conditions. Aware of Covid-19 surge, the villagers got together and decided to stay away from crowded places. All the marriages scheduled for the season were cancelled and one quarantine centre was created away from the village where facilities like food and medicine were provided to the people in the quarantine. The villagers say that they laid special focus on cleanliness, adding that a Peepal tree planted by their elders served as their source of clean oxygen.
The Gram Pradhan Lalita Devi and former Pradhan Surendra Dutt Uniyal said that everyone in the village forgot their differences and worked together following Covid guidelines and no one was allowed entry into the village. The villagers know that they will be able to beat Covid by staying at home. It was because of strict adherence to the guidelines by all the villagers that Covid did not enter the village.
