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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that despite a population of nearly 24 crore, Uttar Pradesh had managed to check the spread of coronavirus and had overcome apprehensions on how the pandemic would impact the state. He also cautioned that the fight against the deadly virus was so long that one had to work continuously to deal with it.
Interacting via video-conference with various non-governmental organisations of his parliamentary constituency who are providing relief during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Modi praised the people of the holy city for brimming with hope and enthusiasm, notwithstanding the corona pandemic. The PM said he was continuously getting information on how people were giving support to the needy with a sense of servitude and courage.
He said he was getting information of various steps being taken to prevent infection from spreading, the condition of various hospitals, the quarantine arrangements and the welfare of the migrant workers.
“There is an old belief that nobody in Kashi sleeps hungry as the city is blessed by Maa Annapurna and Baba Vishwanath. It is a great privilege for all of us that this time God has made us the medium of service to the poor,” Modi said and adding that despite a check on various religious activities in the city, the local people had proved that they were second to none in their fight against coronavirus and in supporting the poor and needy with continuous food and medical supply.
He praised the efforts of the NGOs for working in tandem with various government and local administration bodies.
He recalled that a 100 years ago, a pandemic had struck. Though the population of India was much smaller, it was among the countries that had witnessed maximum deaths, he pointed out.
This time too, during the outbreak of coronavirus, experts had raised concerns about India, he said, adding that issues such as rise in virus cases due to movement of migrants and food for the needy in Uttar Pradesh were flagged.
The PM said that creating an extensive network of food helplines and community kitchens in a short span of time, developing helplines, taking the help of data science, making full use of the control and command centre of Varanasi Smart City, everyone had full potential to help the poor at every level.
He elaborated how the Postal department came forward to help the district administration when they ran short of carts for distribution of food.
Quoting Saint Kabir Das, Modi said, “The one who does service does not ask for the fruits of the service, does selfless service day and night!”
“Several experts questioned India’s capabilities to fight the pandemic, owing to its high population and many other challenges,” he said, adding that the fear that Uttar Pradesh with a population of 23-24 crore could not mitigate the infection had been allayed due to the cooperation and the hard work of the people of the state.
He expressed satisfaction that the pace of infection in UP now had not only been controlled but those who had coronavirus infection were recovering fast.
Modi said the Central government was providing various facilities to the needy and around 80 crore people were going to benefit from the schemes which were not just providing free ration but also free LPG cylinders.
He said India, with twice the population of America, was serving people without taking a penny from them and now this plan had been extended till the end of November, i.e. Deepawali and Chhath Puja. 
He said that efforts were being made to alleviate various hardships being faced by various craftsmen, especially weavers, along with traders and businessmen of Varanasi.
“Various infrastructure and other projects worth Rs 8,000 crore are being implemented at a fast pace,” he added.