SONIA Gandhi calls for helping the vulnerable sections of the society including workers & farmers impacted by lockdown

CONGRESS President Sonia Gandhi has urged her party  led governments, frontal organisations, leaders and workers to offer help to those families who are at extreme risk. She requested the Government to publish and make available details of designated hospitals, number of beds, quarantine and testing facilities, as well as information regarding the availability of medical supplies to the general public. Farmers, who have faced the wrath of inclement weather this season, are now confronted with having to cope with the harvesting season. This, at a time when the entire country has been locked down. Addressing CWC meet over video conference on Thursday, April 2, she said farmers  urgently require fertilizers and pesticides, access to easy lines of credit, forward guidance in preparing for the planting of the kharif crop. Proper remuneration prices are essential for them to be able to survive the present economic onslaught. Medium and Small-Scale Enterprises, are now gravely threatened. They have been hit hardest by recent events. The livelihood of crores of our citizens has been imperilled. Government needs to put in place a comprehensive strategy to manage this crisis. Close to ninety percent of our fellow Indians toiling in the Unorganised Sector are also extremely vulnerable. The economic consequences of the pandemic threaten to destroy their livelihood. They are already facing tremendous hardship due to hunger and lack of health facilities. As a nation, we owe them our full and constructive support. The middle classes too are vulnerable. Wage cuts, job losses across all sectors of the economy, high petrol diesel and gas prices are causing them acute distress. If this was not enough, while EMIs have been deferred, no interest subvention or relief has been provided. This offset the entire purpose of the deferment and urged the Central Government to prepare and publish a Common Minimum Relief Programme. This is vital and will help alleviate several of the concerns that currently afflict all people. We must take immediate measures to guarantee adequate shelter, food and medicines to as many of them as we can. Covid-19 does not differentiate between political ideology, religion, caste, age or gender, she added.