Centre has given priority to states with tourism sector in its vaccination campaign: Modi

19/09/2021
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NEW DELHI, Sep 18: Asserting the need to open the tourism sector of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the Centre has given priority to the states with potential tourism sector in its vaccination campaign.
A day after the coastal state completed 100 per cent first vaccination dose coverage for its adult population, PM Modi interacted with healthcare workers and beneficiaries of the COVID-19 vaccination programme in Goa via video conferencing and said, "It has not come up for discussion but India has given a lot of priority to the states with potential tourism sector in its vaccination campaign. Initially, we did not say this because politics would have started on this as well. But it was very important that our tourism destinations reopen. Himachal Pradesh, Goa are some examples of the same. Everyone eligible has received their first dose already. We are now working on Uttarakhand to achieve the same." "Tourists can visit these places with a feeling of safety after everyone's vaccinated. Goa is one of the very few tourism centres in the world where tourists can travel safely. The central government has also recently taken several steps to encourage foreign tourists as well. It has been decided to give free visas to 5 lakh tourists visiting India," he added.
Remembering the contribution of former Chief Minister of Goa Manohar Parrikar, PM Modi said that the road shown by him is being taken forward by Sawant and his team to develop Goa.
"The road shown by Late Parrikar Ji is being taken forward by Dr Pramod Sawant Ji and his team to develop Goa. Work has already started on the production of over 50 components in Goa under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. Goa is now 100 per cent electrified, and every house in rural Goa is being connected with clean drinking water under the Jal Jeevan Mission," said PM Modi.
"This commitment towards good governance was shown by the Goa government even during COVID. They did not leave any stone unturned in providing all support to every poor, every farmer and every needy," he added.
As the country clinched "World's Fastest Vaccine Drive" title by jabbing 466 doses per second on the occasion of PM's 71st birthday, Modi said, "We saw how the nation kept looking at CoWIN dashboard yesterday. More than 15 lakh vaccinations every hour, over 26,000 vaccinations every minute took place yesterday, and more than 425 people were administered vaccines every second yesterday."
"Several birthdays have come and gone. But this one was very special and memorable. It is very usual to become very emotional at this age, but yesterday was very special for me," the prime minister said.
He lauded the tireless efforts shown by the doctors and healthcare workers during the ongoing pandemic. "Their hard work has reflected on the record number of vaccination yesterday," PM Modi said.
A day after the highest single-day vaccination, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked without naming any political party why some political parties had developed a "fever" when the country administered 2.5 crore vaccine doses.
PM Modi interacted with a doctor during his address to healthcare workers and vaccine beneficiaries of Goa. They discussed the possible side effects of vaccines. The PM said, "I have heard of vaccine beneficiaries developing side effects. However, for the first time, I saw that a political party developed fever late last night after India achieved its vaccination record. Is there any logic to this?" the Prime Minister asked. PM Modi interacted virtually with healthcare workers and vaccine beneficiaries in Goa. Earlier this week, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant declared that 100 per cent of Goa's population had received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
The Prime Minister reaction comes after the senior Congress leader P Chidambaram tweeted asking why we had to wait until the PM's birthday.
"Happy and grateful that 2.5 crore vaccinations were administered vaccines yesterday But why did we have to wait until the PM's birthday? Suppose the PM's birthday was on December 31 then would the 2.5 crore vaccinations have been done only on the last day of the year? Vaccination is not like cutting a cake on a birthday," he tweeted.
He also said, "Vaccination is a programme, it is a process. It has to be accelerated every day, not scale a peak on a birthday. Sobering thoughts: a) one-third of the adult population has yet to receive its FIRST dose. b) Only 21% has been FULLY vaccinated."
"BJP ruled states -- UP, MP, Gujarat and Karnataka -- "perform" on the PM's birthday and vaccinate many times the daily average. On other days, they are "non-performing" states. I wish the PM celebrated his birthday every day," said Chidambaram
After Chidambaram's tweet, Rahul also said that "Looking forward to many more days of 2.1 crore vaccinations. This pace is what our country needs."
On Friday India set a world record by administering 2.5 crore jabs in a single day. Earlier, on August 31, India administered 1.41 crore doses in a single day. (ANI)

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