The Maha Vikas Aghadi government is not providing any financial aid to the weaker sections of society hit hard by the lockdown unlike the Centre which is helping the poor, state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil alleged on Wednesday. Patil demanded the Maharashtra government announce a financial package for 'bara balutedars' and other workers such as maids, owners of salons and barber shops, rickshaw drivers etc.

'Bara Balutedars' is a term used to describe various constituents of the traditional village economy, including artisans. "While PM Narendra Modi is helping the people with open hands, the state government is not announcing any aid for bara balutedars, domestic maids, vegetable vendors, rickshaw drivers, barbers and others in the current times," Patil said in an online press conference. The former revenue minister said the state should rope in social organisations to manage asymptomatic COVID-19 patients so that beds in hospitals remain available for critical patients.