PM Modi speaks to CMs of 7 states amid pandemic, floods; Assam Police’s Covid-19 message has filmy and innovative twist

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday spoke to the chief ministers of seven states to discuss the present flood situation and also the management of the Covid-19 pandemic in their respective states.

PM Modi telephoned the chief ministers of Bihar, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The states of Assam and Bihar have been among the worst hit due to the annual floods during the monsoon season.

In Assam, at least 79 people have died so far while 28 lakh people in 26 districts have been affected by the floods and almost 1.18 lakh hectare of cultivable land is submerged with the Bramhaputra river flowing above the danger mark at several places across the state.

Around 48,000 people have taken shelter in 649 relief camps. Scores of wildlife have been killed in the state’s Kaziranga National Park..

The PM assured Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal of all support while dealing with the floods, which have claimed 81 lives so far this year. PM Modi also enquired about the pandemic and the ongoing efforts to douse the raging blaze at Oil India’s Baghjan gas well.

Besides Sonowal, the PM had telephonic conversations with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Andhra Pradesh CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao, Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Himachal Pradesh CM Jai Ram Thakur, Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat

PM Modi also discussed state-specific concerns with the chief ministers as all of these states have been witnessing a surge in coronavirus cases. While Tamil Nadu is among the worst affected states in the country, Assam, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have witnessed massive growth lately.

India’s coronavirus tally reached 11,18,043 cases after 40,425 new patients were reported in the last 24 hours, the country’s biggest single-day jump, the Union Health Ministry said. The latest death count of 681 brings the  total fatalities to 27,497.

India is the third worst-hit nation by the pandemic after the US and Brazil.

Assam Police uses SRK’s signature pose to spread Covid-19 message

Meanwhile, the Assam Police on Saturday took to Twitter to spread awareness about the coronavirus, with a filmy twist. The tweet featured Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan in his signature pose, arms spread wide, with a mask photo-shopped onto his face. It also quoted a popular dialogue from Khan’s blockbuster movie Baazigar, tweaked to fit the tweet’s theme of social distancing.

In the picture accompanying the tweet, the Assam Police used Khan’s outstretched arms to drive home the point of keeping a distance of six feet between one another to control the spread of the highly contagious disease.

“Social Distancing can save lives. Or as @iamsrk would say, ‘Kabhi kabhi paas aane ke liye kuch door jaana padta hai, aur door jakar paas aane walon ko Baazigar kehte hai.’ Stay Six feet apart and be a Baazigar! #SocialDistancing #IndiaFightsCorona,” the tweet read.

This is not the first time Shah Rukh’s signature pose has been used by the state police to create awareness. Earlier, in 2018, Jalukbari ACP Ponjit Dowerah had shared a graphic, in which the actor was seen holding a placard in one of his outstretched hands while the sign read, “Traffic niyam ka kripaya palan kare (Please follow traffic rules).”

Shah Rukh had re-shared the tweet while writing: “The best message I think this pose has conveyed. Please please follow traffic rules.”