State gives appointment letters to next of kin of 20 dead Covid worriors

Kolkata: As assured by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, appointment letter of a government job has been handed over to the next of kin of each of the 20 Covid warriors who laid their lives while serving the society at this critical time of pandemic.

The appointment letters along with a Covid warrior medal and certificate were given during the programme of Police Divas on Tuesday. Banerjee along with senior officers including Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha, Home Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, Director General of Police Virendra and Kolkata Police commissioner Anuj Sharma were present in the programme at Nabanna

Sabhaghar.

While officers from districts attended the same through video conference.

Out of 20, eight deceased Covid warriors, whose next of kin received appointment letters on Tuesday, were from West Bengal Police, seven from Kolkata Police, four from the state Health department and one from the Personnel and Administrative Reforms

department.

Expressing her gratitude towards the rank and file of the police force for their service to the society by saving people at this critical time of Covid, the Chief Minister said: "Besides maintaining law and order and traffic, the police have

donated blood and plasma. As many as 7,613 police personnel got infected with the disease and 22 of them have died. But before getting affected they continued working for

common people. Starting from providing necessary support to the people in distress to helping those who were badly affected due to super cyclone

Amphan were being done by the police."

The state government has provided financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh along with a job to next of kin of those who died and Rs 1 lakh financial assistance to those who got infected to the disease.

While speaking about the free treatment provided by the state government, Banerjee said that some claimed that free of cost treatment was provided in Odisha. " I would like to highlight that not only in state-run hospitals, but also at 60 private hospitals we are providing free-of-cost treatment," she said.