Govt must announce relief plan for daily wagers: Vakil

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, May 4: Senior vice president of People’s Conference and former minister Abdul Gani Vakil has demanded that Lt. Governor GC Murmu led administration should announce a relief package in cash for daily wage labourers including Auto, taxi drivers and horse-cart owners to help them to mitigate the financial burden arising out of the Coronavirus outbreak in Jammu and Kashmir.
He alleged that the Govt has failed to address these poor people who live their lives feed their families on daily earnings and left them in lurch.
The demand comes in the backdrop of the recent announcement by the UT Government for Rs. 350 crore Covid-19 relief for daily wage workers. “The administration should also provide financial assistance to small scale businessman including houseboat and Shikara people, women entrepreneurs, handloom and handicraft workers etc  who couldn’t earn bread for their families during this tough time, Vakil added.
“The Government must help these daily wagers so that they are not left to die,” Vakil said.
People are cooperating with administration in ensuring lockdown to keep threat of Covid spread at bay. It is responsibility of the administration to help poor people to restore their life and livelihood especially those who make their both ends meet on daily earnings, Vakil added.
“The administration should come up with a comprehensive relief plan for all those people who have badly suffered during the lockdown as they have no source of income except daily earnings “ Vakil said.
Vakil urged the Lt.Governor to look into matter with seriousness and let not the poor people die by the starvation and let the daily earners have a sigh of relief by providing financial help to them to live life during this present crucial time.