Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], Mar 28 : Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday took stock of the situation in Kerala and expressed his satisfaction on the steps taken by the state government in tackling the coronavirus outbreak.
Addressing a press conference, the Kerala Chief Minister said that the state government has also asked for support from the Union Minister for Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan in distributing food grains and provision kits to all households in the state.
"We welcome the Rs 1.7 lakh crore comprehensive COVID 19 relief package announced by the central government while making few suggestions and requests in its implementation. We request the Centre to include the healthcare workers from the private sector also in the insurance scheme. They are playing an important role in battling this virus and we cannot belittle their valuable contribution," he said.
Further, the state government requested the Centre to discuss the requirements of the State governments to widen the scope of the Covid-19 relief package.
"We want an increase in the borrowing capacity to 5 per cent from the current 3 per cent. We also demand the allocation of more funds for the medical sector and one-month free ration for all citizens," Vijayan said.
He also welcomed the RBI's moratorium on loans while appealing for a waiver of interest on the loans.
Regarding the plight of migrant labourers during the lockdown, Vijayan said, "We have opened 4,603 camps across Kerala for the migrant labourers in the State and currently, 1,44,145 labourers are staying there where they are being provided with shelter, medical care and food. In places where their situation is bad, the Labour Department will make the right interventions. The Local Self Government bodies will also make necessary arrangements for their welfare."
"Brochures and short videos in Hindi, Oriya and Bengali are being prepared for the benefit of migrant labourers. "The Bihar and Jharkhand governments are also in touch with us for monitoring the situation of the labourers from their State and we are addressing it", he added.
( With inputs from ANI )