New Delhi: As the country battles the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday appealed to the people to strictly follow social distancing norms and hailed villages of the country for giving the ‘2-gaj ki doori’ mantra.

“All of you have given the mantra – ‘do gaj doori’, or ‘do gaj deh ki doori’. Special attention is being given in villages to follow this mantra. It is because of efforts of people, the entire world today is talking about how India has responded to COVID-19 crisis,” the Prime Minister said while interacting with Sarpanchs from across the nation via video conferencing, on the occasion of Panchayati Raj Diwas.

“Carelessness by even one person may put the entire village in danger. There is no scope for error. Whether it is sanitisation of villages or constructing quarantine centres, we have to continue doing all of this,” said the Prime Minister.

The villages in India have given the mantra of – ‘Do gaj doori ‘ to define social distancing in simpler terms, to fight coronavirus pandemic: PM Modi during interaction with Sarpanchas across the nation. #PanchayatiRajDiwas pic.twitter.com/a8c29hq3xa

— ANI (@ANI) April 24, 2020

Emphasising that the disease can only be fought by maintaining physical distance and taking the necessary precautions, the PM said,” Every village, every house, all of us have to follow the 2-gaj ki doori mantra. We have to wear masks, it doesn’t necessarily have to be an expensive one, we can even use the traditional gamcha to cover our mouths.”

Modi himself used the traditional ‘gamcha’ to cover his mouth and nose during the interaction with Sarpanchs. He also inaugurated e-GramSwaraj portal and launched the Swamitva Scheme on the occasion.

Elaborating on the e-Gram Swaraj portal the Prime Minister said that it is a step towards complete digitisation of Gram Panchayats and in future, it will become the single platform which will keep the records of all the works taken up by the Gram Panchayats.

The ‘Swamitva Scheme,’ will ensure the demarcation of inhabited land in rural areas with the use of the latest surveying methods including the use of drones. (ANI)