Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that we can celebrate Onam without compromising on the security measures to be followed during the epidemic. Let us prepare for Thiruvonam today by embracing the concepts of brotherhood and equality that Onam upholds. The Chief Minister wished all the Malayalees a happy Onam. Let us get ready to celebrate Onam without losing the crisis caused by the Covid epidemic. The government has come up with a number of assistance schemes to ensure that the Onam season passes without a hitch. A special financial assistance package of `5650 crore is being implemented for the small scale sector which is facing severe crisis due to lockdown and Onam special food kits are being distributed to about 90 lakh beneficiaries. The cost was Rs 526 crore. In addition, welfare pensions of `3100 each for the months of August-September were distributed to more than 48.5 lakh people. An amount of `1481.87 crores has been sanctioned for this.
The distribution of special financial assistance of `1000 each to the workers who are members of various welfare funds is in progress. It was also decided to give Rs.1000 as an Onam gift to those above 60 years of age belonging to the Scheduled Tribes. An amount of `5.76 crores has been sanctioned from the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund for this purpose. Onam bazaars have been set up across the state to make goods available at affordable prices.
Earlier, the government had announced concessions to the industrial sector in view of the need for markets in the state to be active during Onam. In this way, many projects have been implemented to celebrate Onam without any worries. Let us prepare for Thiruvonam today by embracing the concepts of brotherhood and equality that Onam upholds. With the greatest joy, let us celebrate Onam without compromising on the safety measures to be followed during the epidemic. I wish everyone a happy Onam – said the Chief Minister.
