iamstranded.nagaland.gov.in
A screenshot of iamstranded.nagaland.gov.in, a dedicated online portal launched by the state government to assist stranded people. (Screenshot/Morung Photo)
Morung Express News
Dimapur | April 21
Amid all the government-bashing and bad press that has gone the Nagaland state government’s way, unbeknownst to the general populace here, good deeds have also taken place.
On April 20, there was a post on a Facebook group, by a person stranded in Guwahati, thanking the Nagaland state government for helping him and two others with cash to buy basic necessities. The post said that three of them received Rs 6000 with which they bought food that would last them another 10 days.
When contacted by The Morung Express, the person, Anep Ozukum who posted the message, said that the cash was handed over to them on April 20 by Nagaland House, Guwahati. He was stranded in Guwahati on March 23 on his way from Kerala to Nagaland and had registered for assistance through the iamstranded.nagaland.gov.in.
Juxtaposed with the ‘Chief Minister’s Special Package for distressed/stranded citizens outside Nagaland,’ which was announced on April 20, there were questions/doubts however. The CM’s special assistance package specified Rs 3000 for stranded students and Rs 4000 for stranded working professionals. Going by the provision, they should have received at least Rs 9000 (Rs 3000 each).
On the contrary, it later emerged that the assistance they received was not from the CM’s Special Package but rather from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for ‘Exigency Expenses’ announced in March subsequent to the lookdown. Rs 2 lakh each was released to the three Nagaland Houses in Kolkata, Delhi and Guwahati and to certain Naga NGOs outside Nagaland for assisting stranded Nagaland domiciles.
Clarifying the doubt, a state government official said today, “People have only started registering for the CM’s Special Package announced on April 20. Whatever (stranded) people have been getting now has been through the CM’s Relief Fund.”
He added that at this stage, they cannot tell for sure how much is given. “But as far as in know, it could be either in cash or in kind. There have been instances of people calling up the designated point persons, spelling out their predicament. Some have been very honest as to say that they have food but lack hygiene items. We have gone as far as handing away soaps and toothpaste to such people,” he said.
Ozukum also said that a helpful woman from Nagaland House, Guwahati further advised him to apply for the newly announced CM’s Special assistance for stranded students and professionals.
The mode of contact to reach out to the stranded has been through iamstranded.nagaland.gov.in— a dedicated online portal launched by the state government to assist stranded people.
“If I see your name in the portal, I’ll call you and get your details and direct you to get in touch with a designated point person. We have been working more or less like a call centre. Our job here is to contact the stranded, who have registered. If it’s Delhi, we give them Delhi DRC’s number, if its Guwahati, we give them Guwahati DRC’s number, if it’s Pune we give him the NCF pastor’s number, if its Bangalore, we ask him to contact the Naga Students’ union Banglaore,” the official said.
Now, with the announcement of the CM’s Special Package, he said that it will become more convenient as the monetary assistance will be transferred directly to the bank accounts of the stranded people, who register through iamstranded.nagaland.gov.in.
.jpg)
