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22,955 beneficiaries of Druk Gyalpo’s Relief Kidu got Nu 284 mn in relief for August
9,532 children also covered under Child Support Kidu
Before the lockdown of 11th August the phone line 1188 was for the Druk Gyalpo Kidu Relief for those who had lost their livelihood due to COVID-19 and wanted to access the Nu 12,000 or Nu 8,000 Kidu.
However, starting from 11th August onwards in addition to 1188 there were four more phone lines created which are 1184, 1185, 1186 and 1187.
RMA Deputy Governor Yangchen Tshogyel who is heading the team on this said the aim of creating these additional lines was in anticipation of the calls for help with the lockdown and to help the vulnerable.
Yangchen said that the call center logs the calls and does a verification of the calls of vulnerable people and immediate requirements like ration or essentials are submitted to Dasho Zimpon’s Office.
While taking the call the address of the caller is taken so that the essentials can be delivered at their residence.
Yangchen said that already even for the regular Kidu recipients’ quicker disbursal is being done to ensure that people get the money when they need it most and the aim now is to give money on a weekly basis.
She said that calls are also coming to the 1010 Zone card helpline asking for help which are also forwarded for Kidu. She said the calls for help are from those who have no savings.
Yangchen said that a team of seven people are taking calls in the office with her but most of the staff are working from home where calls are taken on the special sim cards.
Phurba Sonam, who is a coordinator in the Kidu Relief program said that the calls they receive are for Kidu registration, stranded cases, ration and essentials cases, rental calls and calls meant for other service providers.
Phurba said the calls for essential items came mostly after the lockdown. He said some of these callers are those who were not eligible for the second phase of the Kidu and these could be taxi drivers, small businessmen, housewives and others.
The emphasis of the kidu on daily wage workers has also meant that who depend on such income have applied.
Phurba said that during the period of lockdown the rules had been relaxed to help people for at least a month.
He said that when a call is made the ID Card details of the caller is taken along with other details.
He said in urgent cases the OGZ takes a month’s worth of essentials to the people making the call.
The rent calls are for those who wonder how they can pay rent due to the lockdown and incomes being hit. Here the applicants are advised to apply for Kidu and they will be assessed or even reassessed and means tested to see their financial stability.
The calls are from all over the country but most of them are from Thimphu.
Apart from the regular Kidu amount registration calls, from 13th August to date they have got 493 who have called for ration support and their cases have been forwarded to the OGZ.
Of this within Thimphu itself rations were delivered to 304 people while for the rest it was delivered in other parts of the country.
Meanwhile in terms of the main Druk Gyalpo’s Relief Kidu as of 26th August there were 26,679 applicants of which 21,158 were phase 1 applicants and 5,521 were new applicants.
Of this the total number of beneficiaries were 22,955 and payment made to them was Nu 284 mn for the month.
Of this Nu 7.6 mn was child support benefitting 9,532 children.
Though the second phase of the Kidu was from July to September, August saw 4,466 new applicants throughout the month and kidu was disbursed for applications received until 16th August which is 1,968 of which the eligible beneficiaries were 1,862.
Those who were eligible for Kidu in July got their August payments in advance as well to help them
In July there were 22,213 applicants and 21,093 were eligible beneficiaries.
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