Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the 76th episode of his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat on Sunday, said that the second wave of COVID-19 is testing our patience and capacity to bear the pain.
He said that after successfully tackling the first wave, India's morale was high but the second wave of COVID-19 has shaken the nation.
During the 76th episode of the 'Mann ki Baat' radio programme, the Prime Minister lauded the health workers and doctors for fighting a major battle against the infection. "I am speaking to you at a time when COVID-19 is testing our patience and capacity to bear pain. Many of our loved ones left us untimely. After successfully tackling 1st wave, the nation's morale was high, it was confident but this storm (2nd wave) has shaken the nation," PM Modi said.
"To tackle this wave of COVID, I have held meetings with experts from many fields like pharma industry, oxygen production etc," he said.
"Our health workers and doctors are currently fighting a major battle against COVID-19. In the past year, they have had several kinds of experiences about the pandemic," he added.
In his monthly Mann Ki Baat broadcast, PM Modi spoke to doctors, nurses and frontline workers, who shared their experience and views on the disease, and expressed confidence that people will soon come out of this crisis.
The over 30-minute broadcast was entirely focused on the pandemic, which has been rampaging across the country for weeks, with Modi asserting that defeating the disease is the biggest priority.
He urged countrymen to go for vaccination against the disease and cautioned them against rumours about it.
The Centre, he said, will continue to provide jabs free of cost to the eligible people (those over 45 years of age) and has been helping states in their efforts to deal with the disease with its full might.
"We have to give priority to the expert and scientific advice at this time to win this battle," he said.
While people are getting affected by the disease, they are also recovering from it in big numbers, he said.
"Mann ki Baat" is the Prime Minister's monthly radio address to the nation, which is broadcast on the last Sunday of every month.
