Assam government to provide relief materials to daily wage earners

GUWAHATI: Assam government has decided to provide relief materials for seven days to the daily wage earners of the state, who are among the worst-hit population in the lockdown period in force in the country to prevent an outbreak of novel coronavirus.
A state government spokesman said, “The chief secretary has directed the deputy commissioners of the state to issue gratuitous relief materials for seven days to the daily wage earners like rickshaw pullers, labourers living or stranded in the urban areas as per the norms of Assam Relief Manuals.”
The decision was taken at the daily meeting of State Level Task Force to review the status and action for management of Covid-19.
“Kamrup metropolitan district deputy commissioner has arranged selling of vegetables at 66 points of Guwahati city by mobile vans. The chief secretary directed to continue the process and increase the area of coverage, if needed,” the spokesman said.
The chief secretary has also directed that the production units of bread, biscuits, packaged water, rice mill, chira mill, flour mills will continue production with minimum staff maintaining social distance.
Earlier in the day chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal visited Golaghat district to take stock of preparedness of the health department to deal with coronavirus outbreak in the district. He visited the newly developed isolation ward and other facilities of Swahid Kushal Konwar Civil Hospital.
The chief minister in the meeting directed the district administration to carry out extensive awareness drive among people on COVID-19 and also on the importance of lockdown declared by the Prime Minister in the country.
He asked the district administration to ensure availability of essential commodities amongst people and to keep close watch on the market so that hoarding of essential commodities could not take place leading to escalation of prices.
He said that the chief secretary has already been directed to regularly monitor the availability of essential commodities in the districts so that there could be no scarcity of such materials. He said that the state government makes its outmost efforts to provide all needful services to the people at this hour of crisis.