India News | Onus on People to Contain Spread of Virus, Says Puducherry CM

Puducherry, Sept 2 (PTI) Chief Minister of Puducherry V Narayanasamy on Wednesday reiterated that cooperation of the people, particularly the youth, was necessary to contain the spread of the pandemic in the Union Territory.

Addressing a virtual press conference here, he said, "In spite of repeated appeals not to move about unnecessarily, the youth are going around, and this leads to increase in the pandemic cases."

Also Read | Oppo F17 Pro & Oppo F17 Handsets With Quad Rear Cameras Launched in India; Prices, Features, Variants & Specifications.

There should be adherence to safety protocol to bring the caseload down, he said.

The government has taken several steps to ramp up testing of samples for COVID-19 and additional doctors and nurses posted in the government hospitals to curb the viral infection, the Chief Minister said.

Also Read | China Accuses India of Changing Status Quo at Pangong Tso After Indian Troops Thwarted Chinese Incursion in Eastern Ladakh.

He said he has received complaints from patients and their relatives that some private medical colleges here were allegedly shirking the responsibility of providing medical care for the virus-hit.

Narayanasamy said he and Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao would hold talks with representatives from the management of the private medical colleges on Thursday to resolve the issue. Referring to the financial position of the territorial government, he said it was critical with the Centre showing no response to the plea for grants and compensation for loss arising out of the implementation of GST (goods and services tax). "There is a 40 per cent shortfall in revenue in the wake of the lull in business activities due to the coronavirus- induced lockdown," he said while asking the Centre to come to the rescue.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)