PM Narendra Modi speaks with CMs of 4 states, promises Centre's aid in tackling COVID-19 crisis

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (May 8) took stock of the Covid-19 situation in separate telephonic conversations with four Chief Ministers and assured them of all possible help from the Central government, said sources.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Himachal Pradesh CM Jairam Thakur and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, were among those whom the Prime Minister dialled to get details about the Covid-19 situation in their states.

In a tweet, the Maharashtra Chief Minister`s Office said Thackeray requested more linkages in the procurement of oxygen for the state and gave information about several measures taken and plans to counter the third wave of the pandemic.

He thanked the Prime Minister for continuous guidance and for "accepting various requests made by the state".

"In a telephonic conversation with CM Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, the Hon`ble PM@narendramodi sought details about Maharashtra`s fight against COVID and commended its efforts in countering the second wave."

Maharashtra is among the states where the maximum number of Covid cases have been reported so far. The state logged 54,022 new cases in the last 24 hours while 898 Covid patients died in the same period.

Thackeray's conversation with the Prime Minister came a day after he wrote to Modi regarding the supply of vaccines, technical glitches on the CoWin App and developing a state-level app for citizen`s vaccination registration. The CM`s initiative to come up with a Covid app comes amid frequent glitches in the CoWIN registration platform.

Maharashtra is among the 10 states that account for close to 72 per cent of the new Covid-19 cases reported in a day, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday (May 7).

The Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in a tweet said he informed the Prime Minister about his state`s "continuously decreasing positivity rate and rapidly rising recovery rate".

Chouhan also spoke with the Prime Minister about the state government`s measures to combat the virus and in turn, the Prime Minister assured him of providing every possible help to the state. Madhya Pradesh added another 11,708 Covid cases in the last 24 hours, pushing the total tally to over 6.49 lakh.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed satisfaction with the efforts of the Madhya Pradesh government and assured all possible help from the central government," Chouhan tweeted in Hindi.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, in a tweet in Hindi, also informed about his telephonic conversation with the Prime Minister, saying " said he updated the Prime Minister on what the state government is doing to provide oxygen to Covid patients, the status of hospital beds and the vaccination drive". The hill state reported 4,177 COVID-19 cases on Friday, pushing its total caseload to over 1.22 lakh. 56 Covid patients died in the last 24 hours.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured all possible help to the state in its battle against the virus," Thakur said.

The Prime Minister later held a telephonic conversation with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin and noted details about the preparedness of the state government to deal with the pandemic.

In the last three days, the Prime Minister has spoken with 10 Chief Ministers and two Lieutenant Governors to take stock of their states and union territories efforts and plans to deal with the pandemic.

(inputs from agencies)

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