The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday said 15 lakh daily wage labourers and 20.37 lakh construction workers in the state would get monthly aid of Rs 1,000 each to support them during the coronavirus pandemic, reported the Hindustan Times.

Chief Minister Adityanath said the government would not let anyone face any problems arising out of the adverse impact of the pandemic on businesses and economic activity. “The state government is standing with you,” he tweeted. “Around 1.65 crore people will get free ration in April. Those families who are not eligible for any government schemes but lack facilities for their sustenance will also get Rs 1,000 monthly as assistance.”

In a televised address, the chief minister said the funds would be transferred under the “Labour Cess Fund”. “There are 20.37 lakh construction workers registered with the state’s labour department, out of which the bank account details of 5.97 lakh workers are available with the department,” he said on Twitter. “A sum of Rs 1,000 will be credited monthly to all the accounts.”

He said accounts would be opened at the earliest for those workers who do not have existing ones yet.

The state government had earlier announced financial assistance for daily-wage workers employed in the unorganised sector whose livelihoods have been paralysed because of the pandemic. A high-level committee was constituted by Adityanath to look into this, led by state finance minister Suresh Khanna and comprising the agriculture and labour ministers.

Adityanath appealed to people to avoid panicking and hoarding essential commodities. “Our preparation is on a war footing. We should not panic and the need of the hour is to fight it. Prevention is the best option,” he said.

Twenty-four cases of the coronavirus infection have been reported in Uttar Pradesh so far. The total number of positive COVID-19 cases in India rose to 271 on Saturday, according to Indian Council of Medical Research.