The story of Ghatane, a village in Solapur district of Maharashtra, has now become an example for thousands of villages across India. The sarpanch of this village has made the entire village Covid-free in just a few months after he was appointed as the head.
Rituraj Deshmukh, 21, took up the task of making the entire village Covid-free and now there is not even a single corona case in Ghatane village. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has applauded him in his recent virtual interaction with the people of the state.
While many rural areas across the nation are being affected badly by the rapidly increasing numbers of Covid cases, Ghatane village has emerged as an exemplary model. A village with population of around 1,500 in Solapur district has brought Covid cases down to zero under the leadership of one of Maharashtra’s youngest sarpanch Ruturaj Deshmukh.
Ruturaj Deshmukh, a science graduate, was elected sarpanch in January this year. He had no idea about the challenges he was going to face in the coming months. According to him, the situation in the village was grim at that time. Due to Covid-19, the families of the village had lost their loved ones. In such a situation, the biggest challenge for him was to make the people of the village aware of Covid appropriate behavior. Keeping each step firmly, this village and the sarpanch of this village have become an example for everyone.
In April, death of two residents, a father-son duo, shook the villagers. It was
Rituraj Deshmukh
21-year-old sarpanch makes Maharashtra village Covid-free later confirmed that they both had contracted the Covid infection. There was panic among the villagers as this small village does not even have a primary health centre; Covid care centres were around 20 km from the village. The local residents had to go to the Public Health Centre at Narkhed, around 10km away, or to the tehsil place of Mohol, around 20 km away, which had the nearest Covid care centre.
Talking exclusively to The Daily Guardian, Ruturaj Deshmukh said, “The battle has not been won yet. Few of the villagers who were staying in their farm huts, have returned to the village. We have distributed Covid safety kits to each house. We have provided masks, sanitisers and soaps in these kits. Also, pulse oximeters and digital thermometers have been given to families with elderly members. We held vaccination camps. We can say the battle will be won only after we vaccinate every individual in the village.”
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in his address to the state on Sunday announced a “Corona-free village” drive to check the spread of Covid-19 in rural areas and appreciated sarpanch Ruturaj Deshmukh for his dedication and efforts.