Maha CM Uddhav Thackeray announces huge hike in honorarium of doctors serving their bonds

Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray on Friday, May 29, announced a huge hike in the honorarium of doctors serving their bonds. He mentioned that this would bring their honorarium at par with doctors working on a contract basis and strengthen their resolve. While the doctors serving their bonds in tribal areas shall be paid Rs.75,000 instead of Rs.60,000, specialist doctors serving there will be paid Rs.85,000 as compared to the earlier sum of Rs.70,000. Moreover, the MBBS doctors in other areas shall get a rise in their honorarium from Rs.55,000 to Rs.70,000. On the other hand, specialist doctors in other areas will get an honorarium of Rs.80,000 instead of Rs.65,000. 

COVID-19 tally in Maharashtra rises to 59,546

Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally surged to 59,546 with 2,598 persons testing positive for the novel coronavirus on Thursday, May 28. There are 38,939 active cases in the state at present. The number of recovered cases in Maharashtra rose to 18,616 after 698 COVID-19 patients were discharged in the day.

85 deaths- 38 from Mumbai, 10 from Pune, 9 from Satara, 7 from Solapur, 5 from Akola, 4 each from Vasai-Virar and Thane, 3 from Aurangabad, 2 from Navi Mumbai and one each from Raigad, Nanded and Jalgaon were reported on Thursday, propelling the state's death toll to 1982. 45 of the aforesaid deceased persons had high-risk co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, etc. The recovery and fatality rate pertaining to COVID-19 in the state stands at 31.26% and 3.32% respectively. A total of 4,19,417 samples have been tested in various laboratories so far.

Read: Coronavirus Live Updates: PM Meets HM To Decide On Lockdown Extension; Cases At 1,65,799

Austerity measures unveiled by Maharashtra Governor

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari declared numerous austerity measures to make more resources available for COVID-19 relief measures. First, he stated while ongoing works would be completed, no new capital works shall be undertaken in the Raj Bhavan. He revealed that the Independence Day function at Raj Bhavan, Pune shall be cancelled. Also, there will be no new recruitment in Raj Bhavan until further orders. 

Furthermore, the practice of offering gifts, mementos, and bouquets to VVIPs shall be discontinued. The proposal for the purchase of a new car for the Raj Bhavan has been deferred. To avoid any expenses on travel, the Governor will conduct meetings and interactions with Vice-Chancellors and other officers via video conference. These measures are expected to save nearly 10-15% of the Raj Bhavan's budget for the current financial year. 

Read: Rahul Gandhi Attempts Damage Control; Dials CM Uddhav And Says 'Congress With Maharashtra'