India’s PM Modi highlights efforts to promote nationwide ‘janta curfew’ today, tags two folk singers

NEW DELHI, Mar 22, 2020, Hindustan Times. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is highlighting the contribution made by various people in spreading awareness about the Janta Curfew. The self-imposed curfew, announced by the Prime Minister in his address to the nation, is being observed from 7 am to 9 pm today, Hindustan Times reported.

“Everyone is contributing in Janta Curfew in his/her own way. Folk singer Malini Awasthi is inspiring people in her own way,” the PM said on Twitter, posting Awasthi’s video clip where she is singing a song asking people to observe Janta Curfew.

The PM also highlighted the efforts of another folk singer, Pritam Bhartwan, from Uttarakhand. “Folk singer Pritam Bhartwan has given a unique and melodious message on Janta Curfew,” PM Modi said in his tweet tagging the singer’s Facebook post where he has posted a song on the importance of Janta Curfew.

The 14-hour curfew us being observed across the country, with many public places shut and train journeys either truncated or stopped. From Manipur in the east to Gujarat in the west; Jammu and Kashmir in the north to Kerala in the south, all the roads are deserted and shops closed.

In Delhi, metro services are stopped and commercial places deserted. The Delhi Police are offering roses to people who are out on the roads, requesting them to observe Janta Curfew. Maharashtra’s capital and India’s bustling financial capital Mumbai also wears a deserted look. Maharashtra has seen the highest number of Covid-19 positive cases.

The disease has infected more than 300 people and led to four deaths in the country. The Janta Curfew has been proposed by PM Modi as a means to practice social distancing so that community spread of the disease can be prevented.