Nearly 2,000 women became widows due to Covid-19 in Assam, govt offers Rs 2.5 lakh

Those with a family's annual income below Rs 5 lakh would get the benefits of the scheme

An estimated 2,000 women in Assam became widows due to Covid-19 and many of them need financial assistance.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said this on Sunday while launching a scheme under which women who lost their husbands due to Covid-19 would be given one-time financial assistance of Rs 2.5 lakh each.

Those with a family annual income below Rs 5 lakh would get the benefits of the scheme.

As many as 883 such women have been identified so far, out of which 176 from four districts were handed over the cheques by Sarma on Sunday in Guwahati.

"More than 6,100 people in our state died due to Covid-19 or those suffering from other ailments but died after contracting Covid-19. So not less than 2,000 women became widows due to the pandemic. We can not compensate their loss but we can do a little by providing some financial assistance to those who require such help," Sarma said while formally launching the Chief Minister’s Covid-19 Widows Support Scheme.

"All the deputy commissioners have been asked to identify such women who need to be provided financial assistance under the scheme," Sarma said.

The state government earlier launched Sishu Seva Scheme under which the children who became orphans due to Covid-19 were offered Rs 3,500 per month till they become self-dependent.

Sarma said he asked finance minister Ajanta Neog to work out a scheme in the next state budget to offer some kind of financial assistance to the family members of all those who lost their dear ones due to Covid-19.

The new interim budget of the BJP-led government is scheduled to be presented in the state Assembly on July 16.

Assam still has over 21,000 active Covid-19 cases and nearly 2,500 cases are being reported daily. Last week, the state government declared seven districts as containment zones in view of rise in Covid-19 cases.