LUCKNOW: Despite the covid curfew all over the state for over a month, UP was able to generate over two crore person days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Generation Scheme (MNREGS) between May 11 and June 6.
In all, the number of workers rose from 2.5 lakh in May to 14 lakh in June, suggesting that on an average 50,000 to 60,000 workers were engaged every day during the second wave.
This was a leap of around six times within a span of less than a month.
Last year, UP had set an all-time record of generating nearly 40 crore man days despite the pandemic and lockdown.
According to the state government records, 17,980 gram panchayats had an engagement of just over 2.49 lakh MNREGS workers on May 10.
This went up to over 13.45 lakh in 53,099 gram panchayats by June 5.
Additional chief secretary, rural development, Manoj Kumar Singh said that the department was working aggressively to create as many as possible man days under MNREGS.
He said that developmental activities with the help of MNREGS will be accelerated in villages which are free of corona pandemic.
Officials said that the rise in job generation under MNREGS got the much needed push even as the state government focussed on saving life as well as the livelihood.
MNREGS has been the biggest spinner of job during the first wave of Covid pandemic.
The scheme gained much traction after the Yogi Adityanath government moved in to pursue skill mapping of a large number of migrants who came back to the state following the nation-wide corona-induced lockdown.