Navsari (Guj), Mar 5 (PTI) Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said rural parts of the country may have remained largely unaffected by coronavirus because the people there follow a healthy lifestyle and live in open, airy places.
The vice president was speaking after laying the foundation stone of a multi-specialty hospital here.
"It should be studied why people living in rural areas of the country largely remain unaffected by coronavirus. I believe that the hard work they do and open places they live in has a lot to do with it," he said.
"We live in urban areas and avoid the sun. Now we have everything closed, our cars are closed, houses are closed, our restaurants are closed, offices are closed and now our minds are also getting closed," he said.
India's ancient "vastu" (architecture) rules put stress on air circulation and sunlight "but in urban areas we are not doing it and can get affected by coronavirus," Naidu said.
"I request the youngsters to take up the lifestyle of hard work, learn from our ancestors who developed hard work as part of their lifestyle, and shun the sedentary, western lifestyle," the vice president said.
Pizzas and burgers are good for those in the western countries, but Indians should eat "healthy food", he opined.
Naidu also said that mental health issues should be dealt with like any other disease, and should not be stigmatized.
The 500-bed Nirali Multi-Speciality Hospital, being set up by A M Naik, chairman of Larsen & Toubro, in his personal capacity, will come up on the eight-acre A M Naik Healthcare Complex.
Naik said the inspiration to contribute to the healthcare sector came from his granddaughter Nirali, and he was happy to be able to create healthcare and educational infrastructure in his place of birth.
