The lockdown has led to a halt in many income generating activities, affecting the marginalised and underprivileged the most. Meanwhile, government has given a relaxation to the MGNREGA workers so that they can resume their work and earn a basic livelihood to sustain amid the pandemic.
But due to lack of digital infrastructure and hampered connectivity in few blocks of Kollegal, Karnataka, the Panchayat Development Officer (PDO) asked for help from DEF’s Smartpur center in the region and asked for help in providing digital assistance in official paperwork such as application submission, issuing new Job Card, Aadhaar number linkages and labour payment of toilet construction workers under Swatch Barat Mission and others.
Smartpur’s digital connectivity and broadband services has played a vital role in fulfilling services of the PDO officers. Apart from connecting them digitally, the team also distributed masks to the MNREGA workers of Hoogya Gram Panchayat and raised awareness around importance of social distancing, proper hygiene and other preventive measures.