Andhra Pradesh – As of now more than 2,100 tests are being done per day in the state, that would be scaled up to 4,000 a day by using TrueNat TB testing equipment, the Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy said. He instructed the officials to conduct tests on around 32,000 members who have been identified in the family survey.
The rapid testing should start by taking every Mandal as a unit, he said. All the persons in quarantines will be tested in Andhra Pradesh. The main opposition TDP criticises a daily basis, that the Govt tests less number of people so that the positives are less or the positive COVID-19 cases would be in thousands.
The Chief Minister sought details on the facilities being provided at quarantine centers, ordered the officials to provide Rs 2,000 financial assistance to the poor who are returning home from quarantine centers besides performing weekly tests.
On the other hand, the Farmer-centric COVID-Agri plan is ready in Andhra Pradesh.
The Government’s pragmatic approach to safeguard the interests of the farmers of the state aims to help farmers overcome all the hurdles posed by COVID-19 and the consequential lockdown in the state. The plan of decentralization applied to the Rythu Bazaars (Govt run farmer’s markets) has resulted in setting up of additional 471 temporary Rythu Bazars and counting apart from the existing 100 Rythu Bazar. social distancing is maintained in Govt run Rythy Bazars .
Utilizing the possible resources of the government, a total of 451 APSRTC buses have been converted into Mobile Rythu Bazars selling a wide range of essentials straight from the farm. This ensures that the supply of the essentials reaches even the most remote areas apart from helping authorities implement social distancing norms on the ground. This further increases sale of Rythu Bazars benefiting the farmer at large.
The department of Agriculture Marketing has also scaled up its door delivery services. One fourth (25%) of the products are being sold through the door delivery system. The process of onboarding logistical partners is underway and an app will be launched soon
Over 700 procurement centers which are nearer to farms and farmlands across the state have been set up. Jowar, Red Gram, Bengal Gram, Maize, and Turmeric are procured through these centers. The implementation of all these factors together were strictly being monitored from the village level agriculture assistant to the hierarchy in the government. The Chief Minister has made clear that no farmer in the state should face any issue at these tough times of pandemic COVID-19.
