Severe job losses across different sectors deserves Govt’s instant attention: Bhalla

20/05/2020

JAMMU, May 19: Though during the lockdown, only essential people and commodities are permitted by the authorities, the list of essential people and commodities must be continuously revised to minimise the adverse impact on people's lives and the spread of the pandemic. This was stated by former Minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla while continuing distribution of food items among needy families in Gandhi Nagar constituency since the lockdown. In this regard, former Minister on Tuesday distributed ration item in Rajiv Nagar Ward- 7 Mohalla Dogra . Prominent among those who accompanied Bhalla included Block President Jatinder Singh Chib, DCC General Secretary Urban Aman Bawa, DCC General Secre-tary Urban Jatin Vashisht, Iqbal Singh, Gagan Bral, Master Parsram Lal, Harvinder Kour, Gourav Kumar, Kamala Devi, Kala Ram, Khadam Hussain, Manmohan Singh, Jasbir Singh Jassi, Rohit Choudhary beside others.
Bhalla expressed disappointment and resentment against the Government for ignoring trading community in economic package including mobile, shoe sellers, cloth merchants, hardware, automobiles etc., where in, it came to fore that this community will be landing into great financial crisis on lifting of lockdown as they will have to pay salary, interest, bank loans, taxes, electricity bills and various other financial obligations", Bhalla said. Even the relief measures offered to MSMEs by the government do not help trade as traders are not covered under the MSME sector, he said. He said traders need working capital in their hands to retain employment as lack of support will result in closure of business.There are already severe job losses across different sectors in J&K and if the corona virus impact continues for few more months then the situation may turn from bad to worse and may take on an average at least four to six months for different businesses to recover from the impact.He said that that the COVID-19 affect is such that it can lead to severe to very severe impact on the travel and tourism sector in India with thousands of jobs being axed.He further remarked that the consumer, retail and services will face the brunt of the Covid-19 affect in a big way and the sector is set to lose at least 100,000 jobs.
Bhalla further said that India's informal sector, on the other hand, is the worst hit by COVID-19 and the subsequent extended lockdown. Thousands of migrant workers who used to send home huge remittances have returned to their respective villages, while others are still locked in cities with no source of income and dried up savings. The daily wagers, street vendors, construction workers, labourers have no means to obtain a square meal for themselves and their families, which also leaves them most vulnerable to the disease.While we can't reach out to the needy directly, contributing to their wellness might help the country battle this deadly virus together. Different religious and social organizations besides political parties are working on different aspects of the crisis.
From supporting healthcare workers to providing for daily wage earners, senior citizens and children, they are serving India and its people in the best possible ways.As India intensify its fight against COVID-19, every payment counts. Your contributions will help procure hygiene kits, grocery kits, and protective gear for health workers and people in need. The shortage of personal protective equipment at times puts the lives of India's healthcare workers at huge risk.
Besides ensuring that our medical personnel has adequate PPE's, the funds raised through this campaign will also help daily wagers and their families with crucial supplies.

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