The Assam government announced on Friday that it will provide financial assistance of $2,000 (or about Rs 1.5 lakh) to its residents stranded in foreign countries due to the coronavirus pandemic, ANI reported.
“Many students from Assam are stuck in foreign countries, those who go for short-term courses,” Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. “We will transfer $2,000 to them so that they can sustain themselves till they are allowed to travel to India.”
Sarma, however, said that the money was not for non-resident Indians or people who have been working or studying abroad for longer periods and have a place to stay, NDTV reported. “We will transfer $2,000 to their accounts if they went abroad in the last 30 days according to the date of stamping in their passports,” he said.
Sarma also said that Assam has not reported any positive case of coronavirus but the government is taking necessary precautions. “We are testing anyone who is even showing the slightest symptoms,” he said. The minister added that all examinations have been cancelled and only 50% government employees will come to work on rotational basis.
Sarma added that the government will begin marking passengers coming to Assam through any means of transport with a stamp for home quarantine, according to NDTV. The minister added that all private establishments must have soap and water or sanitizers or they will be shut down. The Bodoland Territorial Council election, scheduled for April 4, has also been postponed, according to PTI.
The total number of positive COVID-19 cases in India rose to 271 on Saturday, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research.
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