TURA: In the wake of the situation arising out of COVID-19 outbreak in the country, officials and staff from East Garo Hills have been urged to donate a part of their salaries towards the welfare of the daily wagers and poorer sections of the society.
EGH Deputy Commissioner, Swapnil Tembe has requested all heads of offices as well as staff to donate their one day salary towards providing food to the daily wage earners while also making an appeal to residents to either contribute to the fund or help in whatever way they can. A link —https://milaap.org/f…/support-achik-chadambe-self-help-group — has also been set up where people can make online donations by clicking and following the instructions given.
“Just help the poor people in your locality. Take care of them for this period of lockdown,” Tembe requested on his official Facebook page, while informing that already several people had made the donations and more than Rs 70,000 have been raised.
The hardest hit due to the lockdown imposed over fear of the spread of coronavirus in the district are the daily wage earners and the poor sections of the society as they cannot go out to earn. The DC, in the wake of the crisis, has urged the people to lend them a helping hand.
“Salaried employees or those doing business can somehow manage during this period of lockdown as they have enough stock and savings. But things are very different for those living from hand to mouth as they cannot find work. Many are not registered with the Labour department and they do not have bank accounts,” Tembe said.
While stating that the most important relief needed at the time is in the form of donation of essential commodities such as rice, dal, etc., Tembe informed that the same is being provided through the A’chik Chadambe Self Help Group (SHG). Although many local residents and officials are coming forward to donate cash or ration, much more is needed in view of the high volume of daily wagers in the district. “We need all the help we can get, please extend a helping hand,” requested Tembe.
Meanwhile, the Williamnagar Municipal Board (WMB) is also doing its bit to help the weaker section of the society. Several homeless people of the town were taken to shelter homes and given food by the board on Tuesday.
“We are taking similar steps like this for the welfare of all sections of the society. All we want from you is to stay at home,” the DC said in his appeal to the people.
Social distancing
As a measure to encourage the people to take steps to prevent the spread of the virus from person to person, an example of social distancing was displayed during the Mid Day Meal (MDM) distribution to parents and guardians at the Rongrenggre Government Girls Higher Secondary School of Williamnagar town. According to the deputy commissioner, orders for the disbursement of the same from January up to March have also been issued to all School Managing Committees (SMCs) including cooking cost to all parents and guardians of students.
Warning against fake news
Meanwhile, the administration has cautioned against the spreading of fake news on COVID-19 and warned that those engaged in the same would be booked under appropriate sections of law.