"Do Gaj Doori": PM Says Villages Showing The Way On Social Distancing

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today gave a shout-out to what he called a simple, but effective message from villages on social distancing in the time of coronavirus - "do gaj doori". India's villages, he said, had handled the crisis better than cities and had shown the world how to fight the virus with limited means and against all odds.

"Do gaj doori (six feet apart). How simply you have spread the message of social distancing in villages," PM Modi said, interacting with sarpanches or village heads on their fight against the pandemic.

"The world is talking about how India handled coronavirus. We have seen how Indian citizens, with their limited means and despite all difficulties, took on the challenge of fighting COVID-19 head-on," he added.

"There are obstructions, there are difficulties, but largely, citizens have shown resolve, found new ways of protecting themselves," he said.

What villages were coming up with, the PM commented, could not be seen even in cities, where people are armed with education.

"Today, when we are in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, what we see are ideas and things being done in the villages of India, which we don't even see in the urban centres of India, where people have better education," said the Prime Minister.

"Villages have shown that our traditions, our culture, our learnings are from the ground up, not the other way around. Villages are handling social distancing far better and with more discipline. Villages have dealt better with self-dependency. There is much to learn from you all."

The country is in an extended lockdown to fight coronavirus until May 3.

To restart the economy, the centre allowed the reopening of some industrial and commercial activity in areas least affected by the virus.

Many of the industries allowed to operate during the lockdown are in rural areas, like farming and horticulture, fisheries and construction of roads and other infrastructure projects.

India has more than 23,000 coronavirus cases, the government has said, with 718 deaths.