In a bid to ease the hardships that the poor may face on account of the lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday, 25 March, announced that all ration card holding families in the state will get an assistance of Rs one thousand each.
According to the Chief Ministers Office, it was announced on 23 March that the assistance was only for families falling under urban local bodies or panchayats.
However, after a fresh review of the situation it was decided that the facility be extended to all families with a ration card and that the money be transferred into the respective accounts through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system.
Notably, Kumar had announced a state-wide lockdown on 22 March last which was to remain effective till 31 March.
However, the restrictions have been tightened further in the wake of the three-week-long nation-wide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday night.
Bihar is home to more than 100 million people, a large proportion of them poor and dependent on the unorganized sector for livelihood, and vulnerable to economic distress in times when normal sources of subsistence have dried up. PTI NAC
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