Maharashtra Govt Announces 'Corona Free Village' Contest - First Prize Rs 50 Lakh - Here's All About It

As part of the contest, three village panchayats in each of the six revenue divisions of the state will be given prizes for managing well the Covid-19 pandemic.

(Representative Image/Getty)

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Government on Wednesday announced a ‘corona-free village’ contest in an endeavor to boost the local administration in villages to initiate steps to curb the spread of Covid-19.

As part of the contest, three village panchayats in each of the six revenue divisions of the state will be given prizes for managing well the Covid-19 pandemic.

The state government has set up a committee to judge the participating villages. Rs 50 lakh has been announced as the first prize while the second and third prize winners will be given Rs 25 lakh and Rs 15 lakh, respectively.

Informing about the same, Maharashtra Rural Development Minister Hasan Mushrif said this contest is a part of the ‘My Village Corona Free’ initiative announced recently by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, adding the goal is to make talukas, districts and ultimately the entire state free from the Covid-19 infection at the earliest.

Mushrif further said the winning villages will also be given an additional amount equal to the prize money as an encouragement by the state government.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra has reported 15,169 new coronavirus cases, 285 deaths and 29,270 recoveries in the last 24 hours. The recovery rate in the state is 94.54 per cent. The new cases were higher than 14,123 infections registered on Tuesday.

The data also stated that ss many as 29,270 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, pushing the number of recovered cases to 54,60,589. 

Mumbai city alone reported 923 new cases and 31 deaths, taking its tally to 7,07,041 and the toll to 14,880. The wider Mumbai division, including the city and its satellite towns, reported 2,616 infections and 50 deaths, pushing the caseload to 15,37,397 and the toll to 27,965.