As part of its effort to arrest the growing spread of the pandemic in rural areas of the state, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday announced a “Covid-Free Village Competition” with cash prizes for villages across the state.
Three days after Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray appealed to the villages across the state to emulate two villages – including Hirve Bazar in Ahmednagar, Rural Development Minister Hasan Mushrif came out with the “Covid-Free Village Competition”. Under the competition, the first three winning villages – to be selected from each of the six revenue divisions in the state --would be given Rs.50 lakh, Rs. 25 lakh and Rs. 15 lakh respectively as incentive to be used by them for development works in their villages.
It is the success of five villages in getting rid of Covid-19 totally in the month of May that has prompted the state government to encourage the villages across the state to replicate the steps taken by these five villages to free their areas of the pandemic. The “Covid 19-free” villages include: Hivare Bazaar where Padma Shri awardee Popatrao Pawar and another activist Bhoyare Khurd have taken the lead, Bhosi in Nanded district in Marathwada, Antroli and Ghatane villages, both in Solapur district in Western Maharashtra.