Pune: Pune is considered as a hotspot for the spread of novel coronavirus with cases crossing the mark of 9,000. The areas such as Uruli Kanchan, Loni Kalbhor, Kadamvasti and other major villages in Haveli belt have noticed marks of this virus along with many small villages of rural area in Pune.
From last two and a half months, a village on Pune-Solapur Highway has managed to stay away from the contagion.
Sortapwadi on the Pune-Solapur highway which has the population of 10,000 are living fearlessly with no coronavirus cases reported till date. Sortapwadi is well known as the village of flowers. The villagers and authority claims that they maintain such record due to proper precautionary measures taken by the local administration along with Gram Panchayat officials.
For over two months, outskirts of Pune city such as Uruli Kanchan, Kunjirwadi, Loni Kalbhor, Koregaon Mool, Kadamvasti have reported over 20 cases with three fatalities. However, no coronavirus patient has been found in and around Sortapwadi.
The villagers strictly maintained the security as no single person outside the village was allowed to enter the village. The strict vigilance, self-discipline and adherence to the rules laid down by the governance has made this village as 'ideal coronavirus-free village'.
The health department of the Zilla Parishad and the Gram Panchayat administration have checked the health of every person in the village and monitored the health of the villagers.
The villagers are spontaneously taking appropriate precautions too. The villagers of Soratapwadi have set an example for every village in the state. Stay at home, keep yourself and the village safe, and protect COVID-19 is the mantra given by these villagers.
Giving more information about this, Sudarshan Chaudhary, Sarpanch of the village speaking to Sakal Times said, "Soon as the first patient of coronavirus was found in an adjacent village, a meeting among the villagers was called and the villagers were informed about the measures to be taken to keep the infection away. The villagers have spontaneously taken the right precautions. Most of them have downloaded the mobile application developed by the central government to understand the prevalence of the infection."
Asha workers, Anganwadi workers, Zilla Parishad school teachers are also playing a vital role in the village.
Meanwhile, former Sarpanch Sagar Chowdhury, Deputy Sarpanch Bhausaheb Chowdhury, Village Development Officer Santosh Nevese, Gram Panchayat members Rajendra Chowdhury, Sunita Kad, Swati Chorghe, Bharti Chowdhury, Alka Chowdhury, Sahadev Sawant, Sanjay Jagtap, Chandrakant Chowdhury, Bapusaheb Walhekar and all villagers are helping the village to stay away from the COVID-19.
