Vijayan urges more financial aid for Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, here on Saturday, raised various issues of the state with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and promised to abide by his decision.

Addressing the media, he said the state required financial assistance due to the emergency situation. Also, "the state should be given some leverage to make own decisions based on the specific needs," said Vijayan.

Stating that over 3.85 lakh migrant labourers are at various camps in the state, Vijayan said, "I urged the Prime Minister that after April 14, special trains be run to let them return to their home states. They should also be given an allowance for three months through the direct benefit transfer scheme."

Vijayan also raised the repatriation of a large number of Keralites, stuck in the Middle East. "The Prime Minister heard all of us. On some issues, he responded briefly. Now, let us wait for him to come back," he said.

The Chief Minister said despite the positive trend "we can't be complacent".

"Today was a happy day for all. A woman delivered a baby boy. She and her husband were coronavirus positive. Two days ago, they turned negative. Both the mother and the child are stable and in perfect condition," said Vijayan. He asked officials to check the use of tunnel sanitiser.

The offices of chartered accountants and tax practioners could be opened once a week, he said.

On Leader of opposition Ramesh Chennithala's charges that the Covid-19 patients and suspects data is being fed into US-based marketing firm-Sprinklr's server, Vijayan said, "The company belongs to a Keralaite and he came forward offer help. We are not paying anything to this company. Even the WHO is using this data,".