Despite lockdown, Chhattigarh's rural economy strong: Govt

Despite the lockdown, the rural

economy of Chhattisgarh remains strong due to extensive works started under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) across the state, a government official has said.

Labourers have been taking all precautions against coronavirus by wearing face masks or covering their faces with scarves, maintaining physical distance and regularly washing their hands while working on the field, he said.

Chhattisgarh has so far recorded 59 COVID-19 cases. These cases have been reported from seven out of the total 28 districts of the state.

"In April alone, 10.24 lakh MGNREGA job-card holder families were provided employment of 1.23 crore man-days. Wages worth Rs 548.41 crore have been paid to labourers in April for the ongoing and previous works," a state public relations official said.

As per statistics released by the Union Rural Development Ministry on April 29, Chhattisgarh is leading in the country in terms of providing .