Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday called an all-party meeting on Sunday to discuss strategies to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the state.
The move came immediately after Sonowal participated in a video-conference of chief ministers with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and apprised him about Assam’s status and the measures taken to contain the pandemic. During the interaction, Modi discussed the need for extension of the 21-day lockdown, which ends on April 14.
“During the meeting, Sonowal will seek suggestions from different parties on the road map to check the spread of Covid-19. He will apprise the party leaders about steps the state government has taken so far and has planned,” an official source said.
Many Opposition leaders have been demanding an all-party meeting with the chief minister on the pandemic.
Welcoming Sonowal’s call, former chief minister and veteran Congress leader Tarun Gogoi said, “It’s necessary to work together to overcome this crisis. I believe while keeping health a priority, the state government must come up with a balanced strategy to deal with the economic crisis.”
Gogoi pressed for rapid testing as well resumption of farming, tea garden and MGNREGA work, maintaining social distancing norms, to provide income for the marginalised sections. He said he would attend the meeting on Sunday.
All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal, too, asked the state government to mull proper policies for the 1.8-lakh small tea growers. “Similarly, over 27 lakh households earn livelihood by producing vegetables. Around 4,000MT vegetables has reportedly gone waste owing to the lockdown. The government must provide relief to these people along with daily wage-earners through a proper policy. Mediapersons working on the ground must be also given insurance cover,” he said.
Earlier, health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “We have already decided to act according to the Centre’s direction. The lockdown may continue but there might be some relaxation in several sectors. There has to be a scientific and balanced way so we can get the maximum output. However, public health is more important than the economy.”
After the all-party meeting, the state cabinet will also hold a meeting on Sunday to possibly take the final call on the strategies to deal with the lockdown extension. Sources said the state may be divided into three zones according to their vulnerability.
On Saturday, Assam did not report any fresh Covid-19 case.
In Hailakandi district, the swab samples of five family members of the Covid-19 patient who died on Friday, tested negative. The district administration has embarked on a disinfection drive in Borjurai, the native village of the victim, on the outskirts of Hailakandi town, along with sanitisation of the burial site and roads leading to it. The ambulance used in the burial process was also disinfected.
The Kamrup (metro) district administration has started sanitising the surroundings of the Athgaon Kabarstan Masjid, after it was found that three persons, who tested positive for Covid-19, participated in a function last month, along with 100 others. Police said 12 people from the city, who also participated in the event, have been put in quarantine.
At least 21 people, including two positive patients from Dhubri, who attended the function on March 12, have been quarantined. Many of the attendees, including the patients, also visited Bilasipara Markaj Masjid and participated in a religious meeting. The Dhubri administration has sealed the mosque and declared the area as a containment zone.
Additional reporting by Satananda Bhattacharjee in Hailakandi and Mukesh Kumar Singh in Dhubri
