UP moots a dedicated Covid-19 corpus in addition to CM Relief Fund

State has so far received Rs 8 cr in the distress fund; Amazon, Flipkart seek help for home deliveries; state govt has identified 1,172 Tablighi Jamaat attendees from UP till date

The Uttar Pradesh government is planning to set up a dedicated fund to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

UP chief minister Adityanath has already issued the necessary directives to the state chief secretary and the CM’s secretariat in this regard.

“The proposed Covid fund will be in addition to the existing CM Relief Fund,” UP additional chief secretary (home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi told the media here this evening and added a formal announcement would soon be made .

He said UP had so far received about Rs 8 crore in the distress fund against coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Awasthi said the government had allowed for the home delivery of consumables by e-commerce major Amazon, while Flipkart had also approached the state for the same and the authorities were working to resolve their issues.

He said the state government had so far identified 1,172 Tablighi Jamaat attendees of UP origin hailing from Lucknow, Kanpur, Meerut, Bareilly, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Agra, Gautam Budh Nagar (Noida) etc. Of these, nearly 884 had been screened and quarantined.

Besides, 287 foreigners, who had attended the Jamaat convention in Delhi had been identified, of which the passport of 286 had been confiscated, while one accused was still at large.

“The police have filed 32 first information reports (FIR) across 13 districts in this regard,” he said while seeking the cooperation of people and the voluntary disclosure by these people in the larger interests of public health.

So far, more than 2,400 community kitchens have been set up in UP to distribute food packets to the poor even as the government simultaneously plans to operate about 2,500 community kitchens of its own over the coming days.

The state government has disbursed Rs 1,139 crore to the districts for the expenditure on medical purchases against coronavirus and more funds would be provided on demand.

So far, the police have filed 7,177 FIRs and booked more than 22,500 persons under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for defying the lockdown orders pertaining to the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.

Besides, more than 180,000 vehicles have been challaned and Rs 3.67 crore collected in fine from offender vehicle owners.

So far, 113 positive coronavirus cases have been identified in UP, of which 17 had been discharged after treatment, while the remaining patients, who are said to be normal, are convalescing in different hospitals without requiring intensive care unit (ICU) support.

Currently, 8 coronavirus testing labs are functioning in UP and three more will join the league after the approval of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The state government has made a provision of 37,000 motorised vans and manual carts for the home delivery of fruits and vegetables during the lockdown period. Nearly 2.6 million litres of milk was distributed in UP.