At a gathering held at Biswanath College of Agriculture on Saturday, Assam Minister Pijush Hazarika formally launched the ‘Chief Minister’s Covid-19 Widows Support Scheme.’ Approximately 32 widows whose spouses died due to Covid-19 received one-time financial help in the form of cheques of Rs 2.5 lakh each.
The minister addressed the crowd, saying that while the government cannot compensate for the loss of a loved one, the one-time financial support will help to alleviate the widows’ financial burdens to some extent and allow them to live a dignified life.
“By launching this scheme, Assam has once again shown that it is the leading state in the country to launch unique welfare schemes for benefit of its people. We have been doing so in past and would keep on doing so in the future. Our chief minister has the vision to make Assam among top 5 states of the country and we are moving well in that direction,” stated Hazarika.
Benefits under this scheme are available to widows whose husbands died after testing positive for Covid-19. However, the widow must be from a low-income family with an annual income of less than Rs 5 lakh.
The ‘Chief Minister’s Widow Support Scheme’ establishment follows the launch of the ‘Sishu Seva Scheme,’ which provides financial help to children who have lost their parents due to Covid-19.
Tezpur MP Pallab Lochan Das, Biswanath MLA Promod Borthakur and others were among those who attended the occasion.