May 31, 2021
Small retail shops will be allowed to remain open from 12 pm to 3 pm: Mamata Banerjee
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee briefed the press today at Nabanna on several decisions taken in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlights of the press conference:
We have prepared a booklet on oxygen management to ensure steady supply of oxygen.
Since the current restrictions would remain till June 15, requests had come in from certain sections. Accordingly, it has been decided that grocery and small business establishments can remain open from 12 pm to 4 pm, and jewellery and saree shops from 12 noon to 3 pm.
The IT sector can operate in two shifts, from 7 am to 12 pm and from 12 pm to 5 pm.
If contractors, at their own cost, can arrange for vaccination of constructions workers, the latter can start working.
Active cases have reduced from 1,32,181 to 19,806. Daily new cases have come down below 25,000. The positivity rate has reduced from 33 per cent to 18-19 per cent. The fatality rate has come down from 1.67 per cent to 0.56 per cent. The recovery rate has increased to 91 per cent.
Till now, 1.41 crore vaccine doses have been administered, of which 1.1 crore are first doses and 40 lakh are second doses.
The State government has bought with its own money 18 lakh vaccine doses in May and 22 lakh vaccine doses in June, for which a total of Rs 114 crore has been spent.
The State government has vaccinated 9 lakh people comprising of vegetable sellers, hawkers, fishmongers and transport sector workers.
To protect the environment in the Sundarbans from the impact of cyclones, native trees like sundari and others would be planted on a priority basis.
Cyclone Yaas has caused damages worth RS 20,000 crore.
As a result of the disaster, two lakh people have been given shelter in 1,200 camps. Repairs of houses have started.
329 dams have burst and repairs of those have started.
With the help pf 280 drinking water pipeline projects, 45 lakh water pouches have been supplied.
Farmland comprising 2.21 lakh hectares and 71,560 hectares of horticultural crops have been destroyed.
The Duare Tan scheme has started in the flood-hit areas. Only flood-hit areas would be serviced through this scheme. Applications are being sought from affected people. Those affected have to write their own applications and submit in designated drop boxes, which have been kept at the SDO offices in urban areas and at the BDO offices in rural areas.
There have been problems regarding relief distribution in Gosaba, but relief would be sent come what may.
It should be seen that there is no shortage of tents, baby food, medicines, etc.
The beautification of Digha and the bridge there have to be completed. Many villages have been affected by flood in the region. Many hawkers’ shops in Digha as well as the Biswa Bangla store have been damaged.
The paving of areas along the beach with stones was done improperly. The stones were placed on cemented surfaces whereas they should have been placed after digging up the ground so that they could stick to the ground.
Fishermen have been affected the most. The damages to their boats and houses have to be recompensed.
I have a meeting with the chambers of commerce this coming Thursday.
The State government would ask for funds to construct 500 more flood shelters from the NITI Aayog. More cold storages and warehouses have to be built for storing foods.
Since we had planted five crore mangrove plants, a lot of damage could be prevented. To prevent soil erosion, in the Sundarbans region, sundari and others trees and in Purba Medinipur, more casuarina (jhau) trees would be planted. Vetiver grass would be planted as well to prevent soil erosion as its long roots bind the soil together.
Many brick kilns have sunk. As alternative work for the time being, the brick kiln workers can be used to assess damages caused by the cyclone. Even migrant workers can be employed for the purpose.
From Taj Bengal to Chetla, 3 km of the Adi Ganga (Tolly’s Nullah) has to be dredged so that the chances of waterlogging in Kolkata can be reduced.
No land would be acquired for the Deocha Pachami mines for now. The first phase of work on constructing a power project would take place on land that the state government already owns. Land might need to be acquired for the second phase of work. The major part of the work would begin only after provisions have been made for houses, roads, schools, colleges and even jobs. But I can assure you that the completion of the power project would bring about a golden age for the people there.
The State government would do its best to repair houses destroyed or damaged by the cyclone. But our government does not have much money to spare and the Union government too does not help us properly. But we would try our best to provide every help possible. After all, we are your guardians.
Several departments are very big; they have a lot of work to do. Therefore, to make it easier for them, their work would be decentralised.
We have not asked for anything from the prime minister. We have just given him our assessment of the damages and have asked him to decide whatever he feels best.
