Covid-19 compensation in Bengluru to be finally released at political event

BENGALURU: More than 6 months later, after first announcing a Covid-19 compensation for BPL families who lost their family members due to pandemic, the state government will be providing Rs 1 lakh per family at a political event in Bengaluru on December 27.
Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai announced the event which will be inaugurated by him, union finance minister and Karnataka MP Nirmala Sitharaman along with union IT-BT minister Rajeev Chandrasekar and attended by almost all of his cabinet ministers from Bengaluru.
The event will be held at the national college grounds Basavanagudi in Bengaluru at 11am.
The government, while having released the Rs 50,000 compensation from the centre as covid compensation, had held back in Bengaluru the distribution of the state compensation for distributing it at a mega event.
According to BBMP officials, as many as 2,750 BPL family beneficiaries have been identified for the compensation in the city.
“Of these, we are looking to distribute the amount to close to 1,500 beneficiaries on that day,” said the official.
It is said the Rs 1 lakh compensation will be given by way of a cheque distribution.
Meanwhile, according to the revenue department, the statewide distribution has supposedly started in a small manner with local MLAs distributing the state compensation.
“It was only the Bengaluru BJP MLAs who wanted to launch the distribution in a big way and hence had to be accommodated,” said a revenue department official.
As many as 38,305 people have died as of Friday evening due to the pandemic, since March-April 2020.