Kolkata, Jan 1 (PTI) In the backdrop of the spike in COVID-19 pandemic in the state, the West Bengal government on Saturday decided to postpone its scheduled 'Duare Sarkar' and Students' Credit Card programmes, a senior official said.

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The 'Duare Sarkar' programme was slated to be held on Sunday and the Students Credit Card programme was to be held in Netaji Indoor stadium in the city the next day. Both programmes have been postponed to a later date which will be announced after reviewing the situation, he said.

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“The COVID-19 infection is rising everyday. This is an alarming situation and we have to take all precautionary measures to combat the spread. We have decided not to allow any congregation for the sake of the people. Hence these programmes have been postponed,” he said.

The state reported 4512 COVID-19 positive cases on Saturday up from 3451 on Friday, a health department bulletin said.

The state government had organised around 60,000 outreach camps at the level of the gram panchayat and municipal ward levels across the state for its 'Duare Sarkar' programme, which is spread over 30 days from where the people of the state are able to avail benefits of its 24 schemes at their doorsteps.

The Student Credit Card scheme is designed to support the students to pursue secondary, higher secondary, madrasah, undergraduate and post graduate studies, including professional degree within and outside India.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)