Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Seeks Relief For Those Affected By Lockdown

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allocate a special relief package for labourers under MGNREGS, in organized and unorganized sectors and Jan Dhan account holders to help them tide over the financial crunch due to the lockdown in force for the coronavirus outbreak.

In a letter to the PM on Sunday, Mr Baghel praised the relief package announced by the Centre on March 26.

However, a major part of the population, like landless labourers engaged in Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and workers from unorganized sectors all over the country are severely affected.

Mr Baghel requested the PM to approve a special package for such people, and suggested in the letter that Rs 1000 be transferred per month in the accounts of MGNREGS labourers and workers from unorganized sector for the next three months.

Similarly, an amount of Rs 750 should be transferred into Jan Dhan Yojna accounts per month for the next three months, his letter said.

He also advised that the Centre bear the amount of provident fund contributions of the workers in the organized sector for next three months, said an official.

The lockdown, in force in the country since Wednesday, and the resultant shut down of public transport has left several lakh migrant workers in the lurch, many of them making the journey from major cities to their native villages by foot.

Chhattisgarh currently has seven COVID-19 patients.

Fortunately, as of now, no deaths have been reported from the infection in the state, the CM said in the letter.

Doctors and medical personnel from AIIMS Raipur and Health department are working tirelessly and monitoring the situation, he said