​​​​​​​Priyanka Vadra writes to telecom chiefs; bats for free calling amid Covid lockdown

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday urged the telecom providers to make their services free for a month amid the national lockdown due to the Coronavirus crisis. The Congress leader wrote separate letters to Airtel chief Sunil Bharti Mittal, Reliance Jio chief Mukesh Ambani, and heads of BSNL and Vodafone-Idea where she highlighted the plight of the migrant workers who are going to their native places on foot - before the Home Ministry directed the states to put a stop to it. 

According to Vadra, the telecom companies can make a constructive change for them. She stated that it is their national duty to help the people in the country at the times of a crisis. She added that this initiative would help reduce fear and uncertainty in their lives.

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India under lockdown

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day lockdown in the entire country effective from midnight of March 25 to deal with the spread of coronavirus, saying that "social distancing" is the only option to deal with the disease, which spreads rapidly. The 21-day curfew is applicable to all states, districts, and villages - irrespective of whether they were earlier under curfew or not. 

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The Coronavirus crisis

As of date, India has reported over 1,000 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19. Out of all the states, Kerala and Maharashtra have reported the most in the country. Meanwhile, over 25 people have died so far due to the deadly virus. Further, India has also closed the India-Pakistan border and restricted passenger movement at the border with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Myanmar. 

Presently, there are around 721,412 confirmed cases of COVID-19 which has led to the death of around 33,956 people. Meanwhile, around 151,004 people have reportedly recovered. The US is at the top of the charts with respect to Coronavirus cases, with over 1.2 lakh infected.

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