12,000 street vendors to get COVID assistance from Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation
BHUBANESWAR: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has shortlisted around 12,000 street vendors for provisioning of financial assistance of Rs 3,000 each to sustain their livelihood.
The financial aid will be provided through direct benefit transfer mode from Monday. The move came after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced the COVID-19 assistance for the street vendors from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMRF) on June 8.
The BMC officials said Rs 3.57 crore has been earmarked for this purpose. While 14,752 street vendors are registered with the BMC, 11,922 have been enlisted for payment in the first phase. Due to discrepancies in bank accounts, 2,830 vendors will be paid later after proper verification, said BMC Deputy Commissioner Pramod Kumar Prusty.
Last year, the government had also announced financial assistance worth Rs 3,000 each to over 65,000 street vendors across 114 urban local bodies. Welcoming the decision, secretary of Nikhila Odisha Street Vendors' Association Manoj Swain said the assistance will be of immense support to small vendors as the pandemic has ruined their livelihood.