BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Sunday asked Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to write to the Centre to raise the compensation amount for families of Covid-19 victims from the existing Rs 50,000 to Rs 4 lakh. Referring to the Covid justice campaign launched by president of All India Congress Committee (AICC) Rahul Gandhi, OPCC vice-president Debasis Patnaik told media persons here that the State unit of the party will also launch a similar awareness drive requesting people particularly those from rural areas to claim compensation for their kin who lost their lives to the virus.
Patnaik said the State government should also come forward and inform the Centre that it is ready to contribute its share of 25 per cent of the compensation amount payable to the victims’ kin. While the Centre is bearing 75 per cent of the compensation amount, the rest is being borne by the State government. Patnaik claimed even as around three lakh persons have succumbed to the virus, the actual toll has not been revealed. “In Odisha also, the actual number of deaths has not been reported. The State government should carry out a survey to find out the actual number of people who died due to the virus,” he said.
The party also asked the State government place a demand before the Centre for establishment of a Covid-19 compensation fund, which can be used for payment of compensation to the families of victims. Though the Centre has announced a compensation of Rs 50,000 after the Supreme Court rapped it for failing to help the families of the victims, it is not enough, Patnaik said and added that the State government should also initiate steps in this regard.