The COVID-19 war room in the North Block of the Secretariat is buzzing with activity since the nationwide lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24.
The ground floor room’s prime purpose is to get feedback from states and various ministries based on which regular reports are sent to Prime Minister’s Office.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday reviewed the functioning of the control room and the situation prevailing in the country during the ongoing nationwide lockdown. He was also briefed about the supply chain of essential commodities.
The meeting was also attended by his two junior ministers — G Kishan Reddy and Nityanand Rai along with Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla.
Top officials apprised him about the migrant situation in various states as well. Migrant workers have been provided shelters by various state governments, they informed Mr Shah. He was also briefed about steps taken by the Home Ministry to enhance the capacity of these shelters.
The COVID-19 war room is of much significance. A senior functionary in the ministry discloses that there are 36 helplines operational via which anyone can call with their problem.
“Through this, we are able to touch base with every stakeholder and get feedback from not only state governments but also NGOs operating on the ground and even private individuals,” he explains.
“Mostly people complain about food not being available or relating some medical emergency or movement of their consignments. We try to sort it out from here,” he adds.
The NDRF and CRPF have been deputed in the war room to keep it functional 24×7.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also chaired a meeting of a Group of Ministers (GoM) at his residence today to discuss “ways to mitigate the hardships faced by the people and the role ministries can play in providing relief to people”.
The lockdown was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 for 21 days — till April 14 — in a bid to combat the novel coronavirus outbreak. The lockdown was then further extended till May 3.
