Shadow Correspondent
Jammu, APR, 05
Jammu: Former Minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla on Sunday continued distributing Ration and other necessary items among needy and poor families of Gandhi Nagar Constituency at Quasim Nagar, Bahu Fort. Prominent among those who accompanied Bhalla include Bunty Pardhan, Pana Lal, Pintu, Manju Madam, Diwan Chand and others.Speaking on the occasion, Bhalla said that we as citizens of this country who will survive through these times will never be able to forgive ourselves if we let large sections of our population die of hunger, lack of access to healthcare and other basic needs. Privileged or economically well off in our country will survive through this period by locking ourselves in our houses / apartments but their sufferings could be beyond imagination of the privileged of our country.
Bhalla said people have been experiencing hunger and shortage of other life saving things. Bhalla demanded central government to announce a relief package for the “poorest of the poor” hit hard by the loss of jobs and income as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, a lump sum amount as cash transfer into the accounts of the needy. For the time being, the government’s first priority should be to help the weakest sections of society when businesses, large and small, and the middle class are clamouring for mega relief measures, suited to their needs, due to the significant economic impact of Covid-19 pandemic.
Former Minister maintained that time has come for the government to revive vital functions of the welfare state. And, it needs to minimise the concentration of power at the Centre in the name of maximum governance and maximise aid to the poor and vulnerable, instead of minimising government, Bhalla added. Migrant labourers are the backbone of India’s domestic construction and unskilled labour industry. Often leaving family behind, they live in crowded basic accommodations. When the lockdown came, this subset of Indian society was caught entirely off guard. Without work or income for days, without accommodation, and with no buffer to wait it out, thousands of them huddled together, waiting for a way to get back home. When it became clear that there was none, many decided to walk home, added Bhalla .
