Summary:
Jammu, Nov 27 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Congress president G A Mir on Saturday demanded an ex gratia payment of Rs 4 lakh to the families of COVID-19 victims, alleging that the mishandling of the pandemic took a heavy toll on people across the country.
Mir expressed concern over the recent spike in new cases and demanded adequate measures to deal with a possible third wave of the pandemic.
"We are taking up (with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha) the issue of compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of COVID-19 victims via a memorandum and are writing to him today itself," he told reporters here.
Mir said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had suggested to the government that a compensation of Rs 4 lakh be paid to the families of those who died of COVID-19.
"It is the duty and responsibility of the government to safeguard the public.
The response of this government was lackluster during the first wave and pathetic when the second wave hit the country, resulting in more loss of lives,” he said.