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‘First state to work on this’: Facing flak for Covid handling, Mamata looks for a turnaround
Mamata Banerjee also hit out at the Centre accusing it of not offering any monetary help to aid state’s containment efforts
The West Bengal government will launch sentinel surveillance against Covid-19 to help authorities monitor the disease’s trend and to even act as an early warning system before any outbreaks, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday.
“We are the first state to start work on this surveillance. The surveillance will be launched in all the districts soon after the lockdown is lifted. This will help us to understand the changing trend of the disease, get an early warning before any possible outbreaks and plan for the future,” said Banerjee.
The National AIDS Control Organisation has been conducting HIV sentinel surveillance for over more than a decade now to monitor the disease’s trends in the country.
The Bengal government has been criticized roundly for low testing rate and high mortality rate amongst Covid-19 patients.
The state administration also announced a slew of initiatives to generate employment for migrant workers returning to the state and to boost the rural economy. This comes amid opposition criticism for not doing enough to bring back migrant labourers stranded in other states.
“While on one hand, plans are afoot to allow 100 more trains to bring in people stranded in other states, the district administration has been asked to prepare a skill chart of migrant workers which would help in generating some employment opportunities for them. Also, the districts have been asked to generate employment under the 100-days work program. A plan to boost the rural economy using 50,000 acres of barren land is also on the anvil,” said a senior official of the state government.
The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19
The chief minister has asked all the district magistrates to ensure the smooth running of the public distribution system.
“District magistrates have been strictly asked to ensure that no person dies of hunger in West Bengal,” Banerjee added.
A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a gradual unveiling of Rs 20 lakh crore package, Banerjee lashed out at the centre for alleged discrimination.
“It is a big zero. We had hoped that the states will get some relief along with various sectors. They had already announced Rs 10 lakh earlier. We don’t know when they will release the rest of the money. The centre has given nothing to the states, not a single penny has been allotted for public spending or to fight the pandemic. It is an eyewash and just misleading the people in this time of the crisis,” said Banerjee.
