Covid-19 guidelines which are in place to curb the further spread of virus were allegedly violated by BJD MLA from Surada, Purna Chandra Swain, after the lawmaker allegedly organised a community lunch at his village on the death anniversary of his late father.
Moreover, Swain also organised a blood donation camp to mark the first death anniversary of his late father Mahadeb Swain. The video of both the events have now gone viral on the internet.
In the viral video, a large crowd is seen in the lunch venue at Amrutula village, native of Swain, in Ganjam district. The villagers are seen queueing up at the venue while no Covid norms including social distancing and use of mask were followed.
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Similarly, Covid-19 guidelines were thrown to the wind at the blood donation camp. People are seen roaming around casually without wearing masks.
Reacting to the allegations, the BJD MLA claimed he had not organised any lunch.
In his reaction to OTV, Swain said, “I have not organised any feast. That was ‘Jiban Bindu’ programme.”
Asked about the feast captured on camera, the Surada MLA said, “We have not organised any feast. That gathering was for distribution of Prasad which might have been oraginsed by the villagers.”
Nevertheless, the development comes in the backdrop of fears about a possible third wave of the pandemic which is likely to set in the next few weeks, hastening the State government to initiate a slew of measures to pep up the health infrastructure in the State and seek complete cooperation from citizens in the implementation of Covid appropriate behavior in public places