Chandigarh, Oct 20 (PTI) Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana KP Singh on Wednesday sought a special welfare scheme and policy for economically weaker sections of society, saying there is an urgent need for it as the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated people financially. In a statement issued here, Rana also congratulated Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi for a number of welfare schemes he had announced for people across Punjab within a short period of time. He observed that a large section of society continued to remain ignored and marginalised since it did not come under any welfare scheme of the government. “It is for this reason I have a suggestion to the government that economically weaker sections of the society need to be identified and provide relief on the pattern of other weaker sections of society so that nobody is left out,” he said. The Speaker added that he has been receiving scores of representations and delegations from people badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.“People have lost highly paying jobs. Factories have shut down rendering so many unemployed”, he pointed out, while adding that well to do families have been pushed into poverty overnight and they do not see any ray of hope. Suggesting some relief measures, Rana said, the government can institute a special time bound survey to identify the economically weaker sections of society, who are spread mostly across the urban areas and start providing relief and compensation to them. PTI CHS VSD ANB ANB