J&K Administration to distribute dry rations to poor; all chemist shops to function

The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Friday will distribute free dry rations to the poor in the wake of the nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Officials said that chemist shops will remain open during the entire period of the lockdown while the supply of milk and groceries will be carried out during specific timings. 

'All chemist shops to remain open from today'

"Free dry ration will be distributed among poor in the district, starting with municipalities today. All chemist shops to open from today. The supply of milk to be allowed only between 8-11 am and four groceries shall open on March 27 between 10 am-4 pm," said DC, Reasi, while speaking to media.

This development comes just a day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced Rs 1.7 lakh crore relief package for the daily wage earners, women workers and migrant workers. Addressing the media on Thursday, the Union Finance Minister had said that PM Garib Kalyan relief package will be distributed as cash transfers and food security.

The number of Coronavirus cases in Jammu and Kashmir increased to 14 after another patient in hilly Rajouri district tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday evening.

On Thursday morning, Jammu and Kashmir reported its first death due to COVID-19 as a 65-year-old man breathed his last at a hospital in Srinagar. The deceased, a resident of uptown Hyderpora, Srinagar, had returned from New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu recently taking part in a Tablighi Jamaat’ congregation attended by people from Indonesia and Malaysia.

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'The government does not want anyone to remain hungry'

"The government does not want anyone to remain hungry," she said. "We have come with a package that will immediately help those affected directly, those migrants workers, urban and rural poor. We are looking both at cash transfers as well as food security measures," Sitharaman added.

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According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the cases of infections are on a rise every day and as on March 27 at 8:00 am, there have been 633 confirmed cases in the country which includes 44 recoveries and 16 fatalities.

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(With ANI inputs)