UP lawmakers give funds for journalists' masks amid coronavirus crisis

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Several politicians in Uttar Pradesh have allocated money from their respective MLA LADS funds to provide face masks and sanitizers for journalists on reporting duty. Leader of Opposition in Assembly and Samajwadi MLA Ram Govind Chaudhary has directed the District Magistrate of Ballia to spend Rs one lakh from his MLA funds to buy the protective gear for journalists exposed to coronavirus risk during field work.

Apna Dal MLC Ashish Singh Patel has also given Rs 12 lakh from his funds for journalists in Lucknow (Rs 2 lakh), Noida (Rs 3 lakh) and Rs 1 lakh each in Varanasi, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Faizabad, Meerut, Bareilly and Mirzapur.

Samajwadi Party MLA Shailendra Yadav Lalai has given Rs one lakh for journalists in his constituency in Jaunpur district.

According to Ashish Singh Patel, he has seen journalists visiting hospitals and other places during the course of their professional duties, which makes them susceptible to corona infection.

"I feel that masks and sanitizers should be made available to them to protest them from the virus," he said.