Amid fear of Covid-19 spread in the protest sites, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait on Thursday (18 March) said that the government should open a vaccination centre at the protest sites.

Tikait said, "As the Covid-19 cases rise in the country once again, we will follow the Covid related guidelines. We will follow social distancing here. The government should inoculate the farmers at the protest sites. I will also get inoculated."

"We won't end the protest because of Covid fear. We will increase the size of the tents in order to maintain distance. This protest is for a cause and we will continue this till the laws' withdrawal," he added.

Talking about the increasing number of cases in the prison, he said: "Parents of the inmates in the prisons have requested us to take up their issues. Covid guidelines are not been followed in the prisons. There are lot of prisoners and they are sleeping close to each other. Social distancing should be followed in the prisons also."

Earlier On Wednesday (17 March), in a meeting with the Chief Ministers amid growing alarm over the resurgence of Covid-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged them to act fast against the emerging "second peak" of the pandemic, warning "if we do not stop this now, a country-wide outbreak can occur".

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)