New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold review meetings with Deputy Commissioners (DCs) of high COVID-19 burden districts over video-conference on May 18 and May 20 in the presence of the Chief Ministers of respective States. 

The DCs of 46 districts from nine States would meet Modi on May 18 and those of 54 districts from 10 States on May 20, Government sources said. The meeting holds significance as the PM will get direct feedback from the ground situation. 

The States to be part of the first virtual meeting will include Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha. Karnataka will be part of the second virtual meeting.

As per inputs, the Prime Minister will gradually interact with more officials by holding more of such meetings wherein NITI Aayog members are also likely to be present so that a comprehensive discussion regarding prevention of the virus spread can take place.

The meetings are being held in the backdrop of the massive second wave of COVID-19 holding India in its grip and more worryingly, hitting the interior rural areas in many States hard. These are areas where access to health resources is scarce and even a rapid scaling up of these resources is a difficult task. According to Government sources, the meeting would be to review how best resources could be used in such districts.