Covid warriors ask Govt to clear dues
Source: Chronicle News Service
Kakching, January 25 2022:
Volunteers and nurses engaged in four Community Home Isolation Centres (CHICs) and Covid Care Centre (CCC) set up in Kakching district during the second wave of Covid-19 have urged the state government to release their entitlements for providing catering service and water supply to these centres along with honorarium of 24 nurses, at the earliest.
Addressing a press meet at Kakching Wairi Kongoi community hall on Tuesday, Shougaijam Shailesh, on behalf of the catering service providers, stated that if the government does not pay the pending dues by January 28 they will have no option but to collect the amount from the inmates who stayed at the centres.
He mentioned that with the onset of second wave of Covid-19 pandemic they had provided service from May 2, 2021 to the CHICs opened at ITI Kakching, SC/ST Girls Hostel Kakching Wairi, Kha Manipur College Kakching and Kakching Makha High School for four months and 10 days without going home.
Shailesh recounted that after the government announced to provide food and water to the CHICs and CCC, they took up the responsibility of serving in the four CHICs and Kakching Higher Secondary School CCC.
However, till date the payment for the catering service and water supply has not been cleared.
On top of this, the honorarium assured for the Covid task force volunteers has also not been provided, he lamented.
Shailesh said they have been demanding the dues from the government for the last three-four months and repeatedly appealed to the chief minister, Kakching MLA M Rameshwar, deputy commissioner and chief medical officer, but nothing has been done so far.
On the other hand, the 24 nurses who were contractually engaged in the CHICs and CCC of Kakching during the second wave of the pandemic have not been paid a single rupee of their honorarium till date, he also conveyed.
Joining the media briefing, one Pukhrambam Bijen said that the catering service providers are not wealthy people and but volunteers who took up the responsibility for the sake of the inmates of the centres.
For carrying out their services, they took loans and borrowed items from shops, but now they are being hounded, he added.
Bijen continued that in such hard times it is very unfortunate that the local MLA Rameshwar and DC have not given them any support.
In contrast, other MLAs and DCs have extended significant help in other districts, he claimed and urged the government to clear the pending dues without further delay .