COVID-19: Odisha leader of Oppn seeks package for daily wage earners as state in shutdown mode
BHUBANESWAR: Drawing urgent attention of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Leader of Opposition Pradipta Naik on Thursday demanded a special package for daily wage earners both in organised and unorganised sectors.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, the BJP leader asked for a special discussion on the emergency situation arising out of COVID-19 on the concluding day of the current session of the Assembly on March 30.
Lakhs of labourers in unorganised sectors, construction workers, kendu leaf pluckers, mining workers and landless farmers are bearing the burnt of lockdown.
They are anxiously waiting for Government assistance to keep their hearth burning. The Government should make special provision for these people till the situation normalises, he said.
Giving a set of proposals to the Government, Naik requested the Naveen to provide daily allowance to registered construction workers during the lockdown period. The State has about 30 lakh registered construction workers.
While the Odisha Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board has a deposit of around Rs 2,000 crore, the Government has utilised only Rs 150 crore on welfare activities of the beneficiaries.
Naik suggested the Chief Minister to use the fund for providing daily allowance to the registered workers.