In a unique initiative, the
Nalbari district administration has decided to set up 'contact centres' to encourage people avail government schemes to economically benefit them in the post-lockdown period.
Talking to PTI, Nalbari Deputy Commissioner Bharat Bhushan Devchoudhury said, the role of these single-window centres will be "immense" as it will work as an interface between the administration and the people so that various government welfare schemes reach the needy.
"The post-lockdown scenario is going to be very crucial in terms of the economic condition of the people. We will have to ensure that the benefits of various welfare schemes reach the poorest of the poor," he said.
Pointing out that the fight against the deadly virus will be a "long one" on multiple fronts, he said, though the government has several schemes to uplift different sections of society, at times it does not percolate to the poor and illiterate people in remote areas.
"Though we have a number of helpline and whatsapp numbers, many of them do not know how to use it or are not confident of talking over the phone.
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"They are more comfortable in explaining their problems face-to-face," Devchoudhury said.
Considering this aspect and to facilitate peoples' participation in government's welfare initiatives, the administration decided to set up 'contact centres' across the district, he added.
"This is being done only in Nalbari. We have already set up the first such centre at the Zila Parishad office on Monday.
"In the next 2-3 days, similar contact centres will be set up in all the seven revenue circles of the district," the DC said.
Depending upon the success of these centres, the administration will consider setting up more such contact points across the district.
He informed that the 'Jogajog Kendra' (contact centres) will be monitored by a senior officer of the district administration while it will be manned by personnel from the District Disaster Management Authority.
"The centres will be opened on all weekdays during office hours.
"Any person can walk in there without any prior appointment and enquire about any issue regarding government schemes. It will work as an interface between the administration and the public," Devchoudhury said.
When asked about the reasons behind starting such single window facilitation centres, he said that the existing official helpline and WhatsApp numbers as well as his personal phone number were flooded with peoples' queries during the lockdown, mostly related to economic hardship.
"The economic struggle of the people will be very severe after the restrictions are lifted.
"We have to work extra to revive the economy and for that, we have to establish a connect with the people," Devchoudhury explained.
Nalbari is one of the five districts in Assam that has been declared to be in the red zone.
In the district, four persons were found to be COVID-19 positive, all of whom have been cured and released from hospitals.
The DC informed that Nalbari was the first district in Assam to implement 'The Assam COVID-19 Regulations, 2020' and seal the Mallapara area after a positive case was detected on April 1.
"Had there been any delay in sealing the Mallapara locality, there would have been every possibility of spreading the virus among the community.
"Because of this action, we could immediately trace 44 persons, who had come in contact with the positive cases," he added.
According to the Health and Family Welfare department of Assam on Monday, the state had tested a total of 8,117 samples for novel coronavirus, of which 35 have been found positive and one has died, while 27 have been cured and released from hospitals.
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