Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday directed the district authorities not to release the monthly remuneration of Anganwadi workers who do not take the Covid vaccine shot.While virtually reviewing the Civod-19 situation and vaccination status in the state with the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Superintendents of Police of all the 34 districts of Assam, the Chief Minister said that the Anganwadi workers directly deal with the most vulnerable sections of the society due to which it is very important that each one of them get vaccinated at the earliest.An official statement said that the Chief Minister asked the Deputy Commissioners to strictly enforce the guidelines issued in respect of micro-containment zones in areas where positivity rates are high.He also instructed the DCs to ensure strict compliance of social distancing norms at the vaccination camps to stop further spread of Covid-19, apart from 100 per cent vaccination coverage of all frontline workers.
The Chief Minister informed that the state government has developed the concept of 'guardian minister' and 'guardian secretary' with a view to give a renewed push to the development narrative of the districts.Sarma also said that the visit of the guardian ministers and guardian secretaries to the assigned districts would be a regular process, and directed the DCs to set up camp offices for them to facilitate smooth functioning of their activities.The Chief Minister appreciated the district health functionaries and district administrations for the role played by them in the success of the mega vaccination camps.Health Minister Keshab Mahanta, Chief Secretary Jishnu Baruah and other senior officials of the state government were present in the virtual review meeting.After taking over as the 15th Chief Minister of Assam on May 10, Sarma had started implementing the guardian ministers system by allocating each of the 13 ministers two to three districts for supervision of all aspects, including policy decisions and schemes.