Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday spoke to chief ministers of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh, and Lt Governor Puducherry to review the Covid-19 situation there.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel asked the Prime Minister to ensure sufficient availability of vaccines, while Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot requested him to step up oxygen supply to the state which has been witnessing a rise in Covid-19 cases.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath briefed Modi about the reduction in the number of Covid-19 cases in the state and also apprised him about the status of the vaccination drive.
He said vaccination for the 18-44 age group would begin from Monday in 23 districts across the state. The vaccination drive for this age group was started on May 1 in seven districts with high caseload. In the second phase, vaccination for the 18-44 age group was started in all municipal corporation limits.
Puducherry Lt Governor Tamilsai Soundarajan briefed Modi about the Covid-19 situation in the union territory as chief minister N Rangaswamy was recuperating from the infectious disease.
During the discussion with Modi, Baghel said that the positivity rate of the viral infection has been steadily declining in the state.
Baghel told the Prime Minister that the state currently has adequate availability of oxygen, and urged him to allow use of the surplus gas for industrial purposes.
Baghel said special attention was being paid to rural areas and additional teams of officials were deployed in the regions where cases were still rising.
Gehlot said he spoke to Modi on increasing the allocation of oxygen to states on the basis of the number of patients.
He also requested the Centre to continue the services of the Indian Air Force for sending empty oxygen tankers to Jamnagar, Hazira as before.
(Published 16 May 2021, 17:42 IST)
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