April 11, 2020
We are fighting the coronavirus – a virus which is not a communal virus but a virus against humanity: Mamata Banerjee
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today addressed a press conference regarding all the developments and steps taken by the government related to the coronavirus pandemic, and several other issues.
Highlights of her press briefing:
New year greetings to all
Six more cases detected today, but I can assure you that there’s no need to panic.
Number of active now is 95, of which 70 cases are from 16 families; therefore, it is being seen that most cases are intra-family occurrences
Lockdown has been officially announced by the Centre till April 30; therefore, in Bangla too the lockdown will continue till April 30
A point I raised with the Centre is that if contributions to the PM’s disaster relief fund and now to PM-CARES fund falls under CSR expenditure, why should contributions to the CM’s disaster relief fund not be considered the same?
Bangla has three international borders, so I have suggested the State DG of Police to hold a meeting with the BSF, SSB, CRPF and CISF, in case there are attempts at infiltration; borders must be strong
No gatherings will be allowed at all
Markets will have to be scattered; no congestion will be allowed inside markets – the police forces of the respective areas will have to take care of this
The three task forces are operational – restriction and relaxation task force, enforcement task force and economic rehabilitation task force
A lane or by-lane or building complex where a positive case is detected will be sanitised, will be under lockdown, and contact tracing will be done
Don’t spread rumours, and stop ascribing “sources” as the basis of those rumours; in this time of emergency, they can create panic
Just as we are cooperating with the Centre, the Centre should also see to it that its supporters do not hurt States’ interests through rumours; no “dirty game” should be played
The State Government is keeping a watch on certain areas – could be a road or lane or by-lane or building – from where one or more cases have arisen. The police are ensuring those areas are sanitised
We are not going to publicly announce the names of these areas, but we will be keeping a close watch
There are still 2 lakh migrant workers in Bangla whom we are keeping in 711 camps cross the State; 44,000 places in panchayat areas across the State are under home quarantine, 5,000 people are under government quarantine
Please cross-check and confirm before showing any news – this request is to all media. That day, ANI reported that I had not spoken to the prime minister during his interaction with the chief ministers, which is false. PTI wrote something about the chief secretary which was also not true.
Do not publicise places where a new case is detected, and say that the whole place or the whole market would be closed; we will do our work, no need to be worried
Just because a positive case is detected in a family doesn’t mean the family has to be stigmatised, rather better care has to be taken of the family; the same logic holds true for places
Lives and livelihoods both must be saved, but with adequate balancing, with a humanitarian approach
It is also because of this humanitarian approach towards the lockdown that we are allowing farming, but with fewer numbers present in fields
I had asked the Centre to give two months payments to the people who are unable to work under the 100 Days’ Work scheme – let’s see if it agrees to the proposal
In fact, for harvesting of crops, people can be employed under 100 Days’ Work
We have 350 designated places where government vans go to buy rice from farmers, but because the lockdown is in place, we will create an app named ‘Annadatri’ through which a farmer will be able to inform the government that he wants to sell rice or other things, and then a government vehicle will go and collect it from him.
We have already created an app called ‘Sandhane’ for surveillance, tracing and tracking suspected cases of coronavirus infection
We have asked for 50,000 kits for rapid testing; it will take seven to eight days – we will start testing as soon as we get them
Ward-by-ward sanitisation will take place
In the tea gardens, we are relaxing the number of workers that can work in a garden at one time from 15 per cent of the total number to 25 per cent
We will use drones to conduct vigilance on crowding but here too there will be a humanitarian approach – being strict without being rigid
I ask for cooperation from the common people; I know you are being inconvenienced all these measures are for your own good
Since the prime minister has taken the decision to extend the lockdown, he must have done it after proper consultation. Hence, I ask the people to please cooperate, to stay at home as much as possible.
Grocery shops will be open from 10 am to 6 pm but no crowding will be allowed
Home deliveries have already been allowed; now we are starting flour mills (atta mills) and oil mills, delivery of mineral water (jars) and bakeries, but all these following proper protocol – like hand sanitisation, small number of people, etc. – else we will take action
We have allowed online services; now I would request the police or the markets to create an app for the urban areas which will contain a list of vehicles, say, 50 or whatever is required, and using which goods can be home-delivered to people requesting such a service
For first time I will be unable to go to Maa Kali’s temple the day before Poila Baisakh; similarly, I request all people to worship from home
Small industrial units, as I had said during my recent interaction with industrialists, may allow some people to stay within the campus of their manufacturing units, following protocol, as commuting is an issue now, so that production activities can be carried out smoothly.
Educational institutions will continue to remain closed till June 10 (and so no extra summer vacation needs to be given later); online classes will continue, both in high schools and colleges
Delivery of meals to homes from ICDS centres will continue till schools reopen in June
People must cooperate if the administration feels that samples for testing need to be collected from them.
I have requested the prime minister for special packages for the MSME sector and unorganised sector, and moratoriums for bank loans, relaxations of license fees, etc.
I have asked the prime minister to release the Rs 30 to 36,000 crore the Centre owes Bangla under various schemes, for a special package of Rs 25,000 crore to combat this situation, and for the GST payment owed to us – of Rs 2,393 crore, for the period of December 2019 to March 2020, and Rs 11,213 crore due under devolution of funds from the Centre to the States as per the GST agreement.
I have also requested the prime minister for the Central Government to announce an economic-cum-health package of Rs 10 lakh crore for the whole country.
The Centre has already announced a package of Rs 1.7 lakh crore. But this is equivalent to less than 1 per cent of our GDP. In this relation, I told the prime minister that when Japan is spending an amount equivalent to 20 per cent of the GDP as compensatory package, the UK is spending 15 per cent of its GDP, USA is spending 10 per cent of its GDP, we should spend at least 6 per cent of the GDP, which comes to Rs 10 lakh crore.
This is required for the pandemic-related infrastructure – so many quarantine centres, so much food for feeding the poor, so much medicines, etc.; there is now so little income for the States – no earning, only burning
We have asked the Centre to look after the migrants properly; we will continue to do, like we are doing now, as long as it’s required.
We have asked the Centre, during the interaction with the prime minister, to set up special packages for the tourism, travel, drugs and pharmaceuticals, and agriculture sectors (including for the 100 Days’ Work Scheme)
I told the prime minister that we have given two months’ worth pension in advance.
I want the manufacturing sector to start work, as much as possible – there should be no dearth of essential commodities; proper transportation for goods – be it trains or flights – must be arranged.
We should see to it that everyone is fed – let us fight with the disease, not the hunger.
The pension scheme for SCs and STs we announced during the last budget, Rs 1,000 crore has already been distributed, and 13,000 Adivasi families have received pension under the new Jai Johor Scheme.
Everyone should get ration; for those with no ration cards, I will request the administration official to set up a mechanism for them too to get the benefits of the food we are distributing through ration shops.
I would request the police to see to it that transgenders and prostitutes in Kolkata, Howrah and other areas get proper food.
24 markets and 12 commercial organisations have taken the responsibility of sanitising markets
Patients are responding to medicine; morbid patients are a bit difficult to treat.
Audit committee comprises ICMR, doctors, defence representatives – so the committee’s figures are well-researched and real
Mapping is being done to take extra precautions once a positive case is detected; it is not with the intention of identifying hotspots but is more about micro-planning.
You cannot compare potatoes with potato chips – ICMR guidelines are being followed for testing
You must accept what the government is saying, not what political parties are saying; we have enough clarity
Let me remind you all, we are fighting the coronavirus – a virus which is not a communal virus but a virus against humanity.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/MamataBanerjeeOfficial/videos/2297885880505904/
