LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh government is mulling to start a scheme to fund the religious trip for the labourers employed in various enterprises in the state. The scheme, after taking shape, is likely to benefit around 1.5 crore workers of over 20,000 factories, workshops and around 6.5 lakh commercial establishments in the state.
If the key sources are to be believed, UP CM Yogi Adityanath along with Union Labour minister Santosh Gangwar is likely to announce the scheme, named after Swami Vivekananda on November 10. The day chosen to announce the scheme happens to be the birth anniversary Dattopant Thengadi, RSS ideologue who founded the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), the trade union wing of the Sangh Parivar.
The sources claimed that the idea to launch such a scheme was drawn from RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat who had exhorted the Sangh cadre to support the migrant labourers and workers who had suffered a lot financially and emotionally. Bhagwat had visited different cities including Lucknow and Kanpur during the last fortnight.
The highly-placed sources in the state labour department confirmed the conceptualization of the scheme and said that the first of its kind in the country, it would give a breather to the labourers, a much-wanted break from the daily grind without thinking of monetary loss and prompt help embark upon a trip to any religious place of their choice.
The sources in the state labour welfare board said that the scheme was just one part of the three-pronged strategy of the state government to support the labourers working in the state. They claimed other two schemes pertain to the funding of the textbooks for meritorious poor students and encouraging them to pursue any sport of their choice and master it.
While the scheme to fund the textbooks for poor students would be named after one of the doyens of modern Hindi literature Mahadevi Verma, the scheme to encourage sportsmen would be named after late international cricketer Chetan Chauhan. Chetan Chauhan, who had been the part of Yogi cabinet, passed away last month due to multi-organ failure after testing positive for COVID-19.
The board is also preparing a database of all labourers employed in various commercial outlets and factories.