Hanagod: Masthamma, a native doctor and recipient of Kannada Rajyotsava award, has urged the State Government to announce a special COVID package for Soliga and Medar community as they have been hit hard due to the current lockdown.

She told SOM that the Medar community, who are into  making different varieties of items from bamboo, have been badly hit in the current second wave and have been rendered jobless. There are hundreds of families belonging to the two communities who earn their livelihood by selling baskets, cages, fans and other items made from bamboo and sell them in shandies, she added. 

She further said that with complete lockdown in force, there was no permission to hold shandies and sell their products to eke out a living. “Their families are in dire straits and the Government has also reduced the free supply of rice from 5 kg to 3 kg per person which has only escalated their problems. In view of this, the Government must announce a special package for the Medar and Soliga communities without delay,” she said.