Kalajatha teams from Nature, an NGO, have launched an awareness campaign among tribal people on COVID-19 in six mandals in Paderu ITDA area.
The cultural troupes will spread the message on precautions and social distance required to prevent spread of the virus through street plays and songs with the support of village secretaries, line departments, Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiative (APPI) with technical assistance from DKA, Austria, NEG-FIRE, Mothers for Credit and Childline Foundation.
The activists launched the campaign at Araku and Dumbriguda areas on Saturday through ‘Community Empowerment Education on Wheels,’ programme. The teams explained about the importance of observing people’s curfew on Sunday as per the call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The tribal people were told to wash their hands regularly with sanitisers or soaps and contact nearest hospital/doctor if they come across symptoms like fever, cough and cold and maintain distance while interacting with visitors and others.
Taking part in the inauguration of the week-long awareness campaign, founder-director of Nature S.B. Balaraju said that after the virus was declared pandemic by WHO, the risk perceptions in India was rated as very high due to crowding at various places and migration of people from one place to another for work.
During the week-long programme, the tribal people will be sensitised in the local dialects on the underlying causes, symptoms and spreading of the virus.
Araku Area Hospital in-charge superintendent M. Hari flagged off campaign vehicle in the presence of doctors C. Ramu, Ram Prasad and R. Nagaraju.