PANAJI
Aam Aadmi Party on Monday launched a massive Covid relief campaign with a goal to distribute free ration packets to every house in Goa.
Asserting that multiple crises such as Covid, lockdown and economic downturn had left Goan families in great distress, State Convenor Rahul Mhambre said that the party took this unprecedented step as CM Pramod Sawant did not heed any of the party’s multiple appeals for financial relief to the common man.
“The one-point agenda of this unprecedented campaign is to ensure that no Goenkar remains hungry. We have witnessed first-hand the anguish of the common man during our covid relief work for the past two months. Our Goan brothers and sisters need support, and it is the government’s responsibility to provide that support. We appealed to the BJP Govt many times to provide financial relief, but it has fallen on deaf ears. Goans cannot wait anymore for Sawant to understand their plight, so Aam Aadmi Party will do what the government is refusing to do.”
Capt Venzy Viegas informed that the campaign is being undertaken on an unprecedented scale, with not just a helpline number -- 75 04 75 04 75 -- but also ground teams going door to door in every village to ensure no one is left out.
“Because of the scale and complexity of the campaign, pilot projects were carried out in three constituencies to streamline the process before launching it on Monday. A total of 40 vans have been put in service, and more than 1,000 volunteers will be coordinated by village pradhans who will personally deliver the ration packs. Each pack contains about 10 kgs of dry grocery essentials such as flour, pulses, sugar, salt, etc,” Capt Viegas said.
Mhambre flagged-off the first 20 vehicles from the party office in Panaji on Monday in the presence of state leaders such as Adv Pratima Coutinho, Adv Surel Tilve, Capt Venzy Viegas, Shubham Shivolkar, Valmiki Naik, Manuel Cardozo, Sandesh Telekar, Shripad Pednekar and others.
