The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Sunday said it will organise a special training programme for its workers across the country to prepare them to help people and the administration in case of an outbreak of a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The programme will have a special module to enable workers to provide help to mothers and children with all necessary measures and precautions required to protect them from the disease, Sangh's Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh Sunil Ambekar said in a statement.
"In view of the possibility of a third wave of corona, a special workers' training will be organised across the country to cooperate with the administration and help potential victims," he said.
Once trained, these workers will boost the morale of the society and help people by providing them "all the necessary information at the appropriate time" to cope with the situation, Ambekar said.
"The special training programme will start from August 1. At some locations, the training may start a bit later, but all the training programmes will be completed by the end of August across all locations," he told PTI.
From September, more people and social organisations will be connected with the move through a "Jan Jagran (public awareness)" campaign in every village and township, Ambekar said.
The RSS functionary said the situation arising out of the second wave of the pandemic was widely discussed at a meeting of the RSS' Akhil Bharatiya Prant Pracharak in Satna, Madhya Pradesh, and the services provided in the "prants (provinces)" were reviewed.
Promotional campaigns for COVID-19 vaccination organised by the volunteers and the facilitation centres set up by them were also reviewed at the meeting, he said.
Ambekar said operation of the Sangh shakhas has started on the ground across the country with the situation slowly returning to normal after the outbreak of the pandemic.
"According to the information received in the meeting, at present, a total of 39,454 shakhas are operating across the country, out of which 27,166 are now being organised in the field. The total number of e-Shakhas being held is 12,288, he said.
Besides, as many as 10,130 "Saptahik Milan (weekly meetings)" are being held regularly, he said.
"Out of these 'Saptahik Milan', a total of 6,510 are taking place on the ground, and 3,620 meetings are being organised online," Ambekar added.
The number of "Kutumb Milan (family meets)", which was started during the Covid-induced lockdown across the country, is 9,637, he said.
