Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 18: With J&K reeling under an unprecedented COVID-19 wave which has led to imposition of local lockdowns and curfews, the Centre should announce a fresh stimulus package to provide relief to the poor as the ongoing second wave of Coronavirus has disrupted their livelihood.
This was stated by JKPCC vice president and former Minister Raman Bhalla after distributing food kits among needy people of Bahu Fort Kacha Talab Ward-47 in Gandhi Nagar constituency. He said that Union Finance Ministry, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other key department’ along with stakeholders should announce stimulus package immediately as J&K has imposed a series of restrictions which are expected to again hit the economy.
He asked Government to expand its vaccination drive so that the severity and the spread of COVID-19 can be contained. He said the Government should control the second wave of the pandemic through its test-track-treat-vaccinate strategy, COVID-19-appropriate behaviour and local-level containment without going in for hard and widespread lockdowns as the most marginalized, including the homeless and poorly paid daily wage labourers are already down to one meal a day.
“The area is full of people who have to earn every day and others who are out of work now. There are hawkers of small items or clothes, a large number of domestic workers and construction workers. Most are without work since the restrictions began,” Bhalla said.
Bhalla further said that the welfare measures announced by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha after the imposition of the current curbs fall short on account of being restricted to certain categories of registered workers and ration card holders, despite the fact that very large numbers of migrants are not PDS beneficiaries. He said the Jammu Municipality should engage with civil society organizations that have worked historically with Jammu’s urban poor to make meaningful interventions to ensure the homeless do not go hungry,” he said.
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