Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 18: Former Minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla today while backing extension of lockdown, demanded Govt to specify roadmap and strategy to fight COVID-19. He sought Govt to spell out the steps and plans to mitigate the woes of migrant labourers stranded on the borders of different states and those of the farmers waiting to harvest crops.
“There is an urgent need to talk about the plight of stranded migrant workers and what the Government intends to do about them, as most of them have completed their 14-day quarantine period besides ramping up mass testing in the country for Covid-19 and specifying steps taken to increase purchase of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE),” Bhalla said.
“Essentially, if someone has gone through the mandatory quarantine period and is not showing any symptoms, is it not the Government’s responsibility to facilitate their return,” Bhalla said, adding the leadership does not mean making the people realize their responsibilities but to fulfill the Government’s duty of accountability towards the country.
He said , many face hunger and starvation in the absence of daily wages that have been disrupted as the world’s seventh-largest economy grinds to a halt.
Bhalla highlighted the plight of retail traders during lockdown, alleging the Government was doing ‘injustice’ to them by allowing only e-commerce companies to sell non-essential items.
“While their shops are locked down for last one month, their main competitors are open and have been allowed to sell non-essential items online. This is injustice to retailers and the Government should not allow this,” he said.
We demand that the Government waive fixed electricity charges for small traders and share their salary burden on the lines of MSMEs,” he said, adding other State Governments should follow Congress-ruled Punjab and Rajasthan where fixed charges on electricity for non-domestic connections have been deferred by two months.
He emphasized the need to mobilise the country’s scientists, engineers and data experts to work on innovative solutions to deal with the crisis.
“The COVID- 19 pandemic is a huge challenge but it is also an opportunity,” he said.
Follow our WhatsApp channel