Appreciates bold and decisive actions of PM to combat COVID – 19 during All Party meeting
Urges PM to announce a package for the industrial sector
Highlights lack of PPE and testing kits besides ventilators, asks centre to tell State govt to upgrade health infrastructure immediately
Chandigarh, April 08, 2020: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to incentivize farmers for delaying delivery of wheat to government agencies by paying a bonus to them even as he called for a package for the industry, facilitation to labour and augmentation of health facilities in Punjab to combat COVID-19 effectively.
The SAD President, who participated in the All-Party meeting held by the Prime Minister through video conferencing facility, appreciated the bold and decisive actions of the PM which he said had won all round praise from the people.
Speaking about various issues, Mr Sukhbir Badal said there was an urgent need to reduce pressure on Mandis in the State during the forthcoming wheat procurement season as large congregations could put the entire State at risk to COVID-19 infections. He advocated that farmers be given bonus for delaying delivery of wheat to government agencies. He later detailed that this bonus could be Rs 100 per quintal for a one-month delay and Rs 150 per quintal for a two-month delay. Mr Badal also suggested that government agencies be directed to purchase wheat at the village level as an enhanced safety measure. He also urged that compensation be given to potato and vegetable farmers who had suffered huge losses in recent times.
Speaking about the problems being faced by the industrial sector, the SAD President urged the Prime Minister to announce a package for the sector. He also urged that the sector be told about the package or subsidies being planned for them so that industrialists could plan ahead. He said as per his feedback the industry felt that the economy was passing through a bad phase and that production would be affected for the next five to six months. He said in such a situation small and medium industry should be told about benefits which would be passed on to them so that they did not go in for large scale labour layoffs.
Speaking about problems of migrant labour in the State, Mr Badal said they were not covered under the PDS and needed to be looked after. He said the labour should be prevailed upon to stay back by the Punjab government. “If the labour does not stay back there will be another lockdown as both agriculture and industrial operations will come to a grinding halt”. He thanked the PM for the wheat and pulses allocated to the State and said the State government should be asked to speed up distribution and it should be ensured that there is no politicization in distribution of central relief. He pointed out that with the SGPC had stepped in to ensure people did not go hungry in Punjab and urged that the religious body be given wheat and rice at concessional prices under the PDS scheme to ensure more help to the needy.
Highlighting the problems being faced in the health sector in Punjab, Mr Badal told the Prime Minister that the State had PPE kit reserve for only two days. He said similarly there were only 215 ventilators and 200 test kits in the State. He said moreover the private hospitals had closed down their shutters and were not helping the government in the fight against COVID-19. Stressing the need to utilize the facilities available in the private sector, he said the government hospitals were woefully under equipped to handle COVID-19 cases. He said there were instances of government hospitals turning away people coming to them with Caronavirus symptoms which had increased the COVID-19 count in Punjab. He urged that the centre talk to the Punjab government and ensure it upgraded its health infrastructure immediately.
Mr Badal also highlighted that the common man was also being affected with banks not following the advice of the RBI to reduce interest rates by 1.75 per cent. He said banks should be instructed to follow all advices given by the RBI to reduce stress on people due the unprecedented situation caused by the lockdown.