BHUBANESWAR: The State government on Monday directed all districts to ensure that adequate safety materials like masks, gloves, face shield and sanitiser are provided to anganwadi workers during the door-to-door health survey for screening of Covid symptoms.In a letter to all district social welfare officers (DSWOs), the Women and Child Development (WCD) department said the collectors have been ordered to provide safety gear to field functionaries deployed for the survey.
The DSWOs have been asked to seek intervention of their Collector concerned in case they face any issues in obtaining the safety materials.The direction came in the wake of a report titled ‘No safety gears, funds for rural health army fighting virus’ published in TNIE on Monday.
The department has also made it clear that financial assistance of `50 lakh will be paid to the spouse or next of kin of any person deployed by government to perform Covid-19 related duty and succumbs to it while in active line of duty. Accordingly, supervisors, anganwadi workers and helpers will also be covered under the financial assistance scheme and their spouse or next of kin will be eligible for the financial assistance.
President of Nikhila Odisha Anganwadi Karmi Sangha Bijay Jena said the State government should consider all victims for financial assistance irrespective of Covid test. “In some cases, anganwadi workers or ASHAs with Covid symptoms have succumbed during duty. Since Covid test is prohibited after death, their kin were deprived of the assistance. It should not happen. The government should consider all such cases on the basis of a field inquiry,” he pointed out.
Western Odisha convenor of the association Prasanta Padhi said the WCD department officials have also assured to clear the pending remuneration of the anganwadi workers and helpers soon.Meanwhile, the door-to-door health survey that was supposed to commence on Monday has been suspended in the coastal districts for three days in view of cyclone ‘Yaas’.