Coronavirus in Tamil Nadu: CPM urges Tamil Nadu govt to involve MPs, MLAs and NGOs in relief work

CHENNAI: The CPM on Friday urged the Tamil Nadu government to involve MLAs, MPs and NGOs in relief work, especially in Chennai as it is the biggest hotspot for Covid-19.
CPM leaders, including its state secretary K Balakrishnan and central committee member G Ramakrishnan, met Tamil Nadu chief secretary K Shanmugam at the Secretariat and presented a memorandum to the chief secretary.
They mainly discussed the guest workers plight.
After the meeting, Balakrishnan addressed the media and said, “The chief secretary said even the government was not aware that so many guest workers were working in Tamil Nadu and he promised to send all those who wanted to go back to their home towns before May 31. Due to cyclone Amphan, the state government was not able to send guest workers from Odisha and West Bengal.”
They told the chief secretary that there was not enough food for guest workers in camps and that they were suffering. “Shanmugam promised to look into the issue,” he said.
“We also wanted the government to release all the vehicles that were seized during lockdown and the chief secretary promised to order release of the vehicles,” he said.
While many sections of the people could not afford masks, Balakrishnan suggested ways to give masks for free to those people. “We asked the government to involve self-help groups (SHGs) to manufacture masks. Police slap a fine of Rs 500 on those who don’t wear masks. But there are several people who cannot even purchase one. The government must use SHGs to manufacture masks and distribute it for free,” Balakrishnan said.