On May 5, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik conducted the latest review meeting to assess the current situation of COVID-19 in the state. In the meeting, problems related to the travel arrangement of returnees, COVID-19 treatment in the state, crop situation, labour-intensive works, law & order situation, and challenges faced by the industries were discussed. Chief Advisor to CMO, Chief Secretary, and other senior officers attended the meeting.
The highlights of the meeting are as follows:
-In the meeting, Patnaik offered his rich tributes to Dharanidhar Nayak, an eminent freedom fighter and great revolutionary, on the occasion of his birth anniversary. The CM further said that his struggle for safeguarding the rights of tribal people would remain memorable.
-Patnaik instructed to increase the number of COVID-19 tests in the state by five times to 15,000 per day from the present 3,500 tests. He applauded the record number of testing in one day i.e. 901 by Institute of Life Science, Bhubaneswar. The state government also announced that testing facilities will be developed in Baripada, Balasore, Koraput, and Balangir districts in the coming days.
-The chief minister further stated that though the COVID-19 position of Odisha was comparatively better, the authorities should not be complacent. It’s imperative that authorities continue to remain alert to combat the situation in the coming days. As of now, the government has conducted analyses of about 46,000 samples so far, with 176 people testing positive for COVID-19.
-Patnaik discussed in detail the arrangements made for migrants, upholding law and order, and issues related to the operation of industries. The Chief Minister ordered for more focus in districts such as Ganjam, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Bolangir, and Balasore, where a large number of people migrate to other states in search of work.
-Due to the inconveniences faced by people returning from Surat by road with respect to food, sunstrokes, and road accidents, the CM has instructed to only allow transportation by train from now on.
-‘Model Policy’ is to be defined to resolve issues faced by businesses. To tackle these problems, talks will soon begin with the Chamber of Indian Businesses, Indian Chamber of Commerce, and Banks. As of now, talks have already begun to draw in more ventures from Japan, South Korea, and America.
-Patnaik advised enhancing credit assistance to the farmers and Self Help Groups. The members of Mission Shakti have provided more than one crore meals in this challenging scenario and they will be rewarded with an incentive of Rs. 2/- per meal from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
-It was also decided that loan assistance for farmers and Self Help Groups (SHG) will be increased. Discussions on normalising life & economic activities in Green Zones were also held.