Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday ordered augmenting the capacity of temporary medical centres set up at gram panchayat level across the State for quarantine of the thousands of Odia migrant workers returning from other States.
Holding a review meeting through video conferencing, Mr. Patnaik also ordered measures to reboot economic activities by providing employment to the people at large.
Stating that it was a long battle, Mr. Patnaik said the Panchayat Raj institutions need to be strengthened at this juncture to tackle the pandemic with people’s participation.
Mr. Patnaik said the migrant workers in quarantine be trained in COVID-19 management in other districts as was already being done in Ganjam. Once out of the quarantine centres, these people can serve society as volunteers, he said.
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A brief certificate course should be prepared for the training, he said.
The need to increase the number of beds at the care centres in the migration-prone districts of Ganjam, Balasore, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Jajpur and Balangir was also discussed at the meeting.
Mr. Patnaik also advised the officials to ensure availability of medical equipments and personal protective equipment (PPE) for all those working in the health care sector.
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The Chief Minister said pregnant and lactating women, children, persons with disabilities and elderly people should be provided special attention.
As regards the measures to boost rural economy, Mr. Patnaik said programmes such as MGNREGS and Mission Shakti be intensified to bring the economy back on track. He directed the departments to prepare plans to provide employment to more people. Adequate funds would be made available to give a momentum to the village-based economy, he said.
It was decided at the meeting that the State government would soon bring three ordinances to boost the agricultural economy. Work would be provided to one lakh people under a plantation drive to be taken up in the coming one month period, the meeting decided.
Director of Mission Shakti Sujata R. Karthikeyan informed the meeting that members of the women’s self-help groups working across the State had produced 50 lakh masks so far of which 46 lakhs had already been distributed in the State.
She said these SHG members were also engaged in preparing cooked food that was being provided to the poor and destitute free across the State since the lockdown had started. These SHGs had cooked 1.6 crore meals so far, she said.
