Mangaluru : Congress leader and former MLC Ivan D’Souza launched Covid helpline and distributed Covid prevention kits at  the District Congress Office on June 5, Saturday.

A total of 3,000 kits will be distributed in the district. Each kit contains masks, sanitiser, multi-vitamin tablets, paracetamol and ORS sachets. In addition, steam vaporisers costing Rs 1,000 will also be distributed to the beneficiaries he added.

Kits will be distributed free to police, government employees, autorickshaw/ taxi/ truck drivers, restaurant workers, street vendors, merchants, fishermen, coolie workers, beedi workers and others during the lockdown.

Volunteers from district Congress committee’s Covid-19 helpline will visit markets and other public places where people gather to distribute the kits. Steam vaporiser will be distributed to select Covid Warriors, he said.

Coming down heavily on the government for not streamlining vaccine distribution, D’Souza questioned it about the sanctions announced by the central government. “The state government must tell people when they get vaccines. Let the government clarify the actual amount it received from the central government. Vaccines are made available in private hospitals, but not in government hospitals. Is there a responsible government in the state?” he asked, adding that the central government could also not answer to the Supreme Court about the ‘free vaccination for all’ plan.

On the distribution of compensation under Covid-19 package, D’Souza said that the government should simplify the process. “The conditions stipulated in Covid package announced by the government makes it difficult for eligible persons to apply for compensation. Most of the deserving will be deprived of the benefits. Distribute compensation to beneficiaries through the respective departments instead of forcing them to submit applications through the Seva Sindhu portals,” D’Souza urged.

Congress leaders Shashidhar Hegde, Vivekraj Poojary, Naveen D’Souza, Prakash Salian and others were present.