Express News Service
DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government has decided to provide 6.75 lakh labourers and their 30 lakh family members/dependents free-of-cost treatment of Covid-19. Harak Singh Rawat, state cabinet minister who is also in charge of the labour department, said, “All assistance will be provided to the workers and their dependents who are engaged in several projects. Assistance will reach the last person in the queue.”
Labourers from UP, Bihar and other states are working in mega projects such as Char Dham Pariyojana, Rishikesh-Karnprayag railway line, mining fields and many others. Labour department officials said the 6.75 lakh workers registered with the state Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) will be eligible for the assistance.
Harbans Singh Chug, secretary labour, said: “These workers will get medical help in government as well as private hospitals according to Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS). Officials said the workers earning less than Rs 21,000 per month would get free medical help from private and government hospitals.Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to file its reply on the vaccination of thousands of workers from Nepal working in various projects in the state. The directions came from a division bench comprising Chief Justice RS Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma.
Religious figures criticise linking Kumbh with CovidSeveral prominent Hindu religious figures on Wednesday criticised attempts to link the recent Kumbh Mela in Haridwar with the spread of Covid-19, saying it is an “insult” to people’s faith and traditions.
