Insight Bureau: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today announced special assistance for the state’s newspaper hawkers. The Department of Information and Public Relations has prepared and registered digital data bases for 7,300 hawkers in the state.
Each registered hacker received a grant of Rs 6,000. A total of Rs 4.38 crore has been provided. It goes directly to their bank account. The assistance is provided by the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
The Chief Minister said that the hawkers would be included in the Unorganized Social Security Board and given assistance. Rs 2 lakh has been provided for accidental deaths, Rs 1 lakh for natural deaths and for those who have been completely disabled in the accident. The chief minister also announced that workshops would be set up at the district level to work for the convenience of hackers. It will be built by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Arrangements have also been made to provide Rs 1.5 lakh to the hawkers due to accidental disability, Rs 80,000 to the hawkers who lost both limbs and Rs 40,000 to the hawkers who lost one limb.
“The hawkers are the bridge between newspapers and readers,” CM said. In every season and even in the pandemic, they didn’t forget to do their duty and provided newspapers to the readers. “Even in the digital age, the demand for newspapers has not diminished,” he added.