MARGAO
Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao has made a fervent plea to ensure that the second dose of Covid vaccine is provided on priority to the seafarers and others working offshore and onshore in countries like Cayman Islands, United Kingdom, Gulf and other countries and save the jobs of the local youth.
In his letter addressed to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, the Benaulim MLA said if the seafarers and other Goans working in Cayman Islands, UK and other countries do not get the second dose within a month from their first dose, many of them will lose their jobs.
Addressing the media along with his daughter Valanka, the Benaulim MLA said it is important that all the seafarers and other Goans working abroad have been the backbone of the Goan economy and the sole bread earners of their respective families.
Citing the case of his Benaulim constituency, Churchill said there are many seafarers whose joining date is June 11. “They had already got their first dose on April 12 and they are eligible for the second dose, but since the government has ordered 84 days gap between the first and the second dose, the seafarers are not able to join the ship as they mandatorily require the vaccination certificate for joining the ship. The same applies to other Goans who are employed abroad”, he added.
Meanwhile, Churchill thanked the government for setting up a Covid care centre at Colva, saying this will go a long way in mitigating the hardships faced by the people inhabiting the Salcete coastal belt. He said the second Covid care centre at Varca will be opened depending on the response Colva Covid Care centre receives.
May be Digambar, Vijai didn’t approach govt for care centre nod: Benaulim MLA
MARGAO: With the government dragging its feet over opening Covid care centres in Margao and Fatorda, NCP MLA Churchill Alemao said Covid centres must not have been sanctioned as the two MLAs “ Digambar Kamat and Vijai Sardesdai did not approach the government.
He further said Covid is not a issue to indulge in politics, saying that everyone should work together to overcome the pandemic. “I do not know why the government did not grant sanction for Covid care centres in Margao and Fatorda. May be the two MLAs did not approach the government”, he said, adding that “even though I belong to the NCP, I approached the government and the request was granted”.
