₹1 crore ex-gratia to kin of two more Covid warriors: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

The chief minister said two more names were included in the list of corona warriors at a recent cabinet meeting.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced that the government will provide an ex-gratia of ₹1 crore each to the families of two more "Covid warriors" who lost their lives during the pandemic.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced in April 2020 that the Delhi government will pay ₹1 crore ex gratia to the kin of each healthcare and frontline worker who died of Covid. (ANI/File)

After cabinet's approval, Kejriwal has given his accent to this proposal.

"Delhi is the only state in the entire country that honours the sacrifice of Covid warriors who lost their lives during the pandemic by providing their families with an honorarium of ₹1 crore each. Delhi has many doctors, healthcare workers, police officers, sanitation workers, paramedics, and volunteers," he said at a press conference.

The chief minister said two more names were included in the list of corona warriors at a recent cabinet meeting.

One of them is Satpal, who worked as a nursing orderly. He was stationed at the District Medical Store in Saket, which was a high-risk area. He used to send medicines to 40 dispensaries in Delhi, where thousands of healthcare workers and patients relied on those medicines. While on active duty, he contracted COVID-19 and died on November 28, 2020, Kejriwal said.

The other Covid warrior, he said, was Delhi Police Constable Amit Kumar, who was posted at Bharat Nagar police station. During the lockdown, his duty was in the highly risk-prone containment zone around Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital. He also contracted Covid on duty and died on May 5, 2020.

The chief minister said the Delhi government has already provided an ex-gratia of ₹1 crore each to the families of 92 Covid warriors.

This includes 52 from the Delhi government's Health Department, 17 from the MCD, seven from the Education Department, five from the DTC, two from the Delhi Police, four from Civil Defence Volunteers, as well as one staffer from Home Guards, NSUT, DSIDC, Delhi Cantonment Board, and the Ministry of Defence. Out of the 17 Covid warriors from the MCD, 10 are doctors and medical staff, four are teachers, and three are sanitation workers.