The volunteers will also be engaged in an exercise ofcontact-tracing of the COVID-19 cases in the state, officialssaid on Tuesday.
Anticipating that the battle against the pandemicwill be a prolonged effort, the ASDMA has envisaged twoinitiatives -- 'Pratirodhi Bondhu', a scheme for mobilisingvolunteers, and 'e-Help Programme'--to tide over the crisis.
M S Manivannan, chief executive officer of the ASDMA,has already written to all the deputy commissioners of thestate and joined hands with the common service centres acrossdistricts for implementing these two programmes.
"Needless to mention that stress has emerged as a newchallenge in the time of lockdown and prohibitory orders,which can seriously affect mental health of the people.
"Moreover, fear of financial insecurity coupled withnon-availability of certain basic services related to day-to-day life and livelihood may hurt people and this have broughtfurther psychological impact on individuals and families as awhole," the letter said.
Under the 'Pratirodhi Bondhu' programme, thevolunteers will be trained to support the frontline workforcein non-medical activities as per guidelines of the NationalDisaster Management Authority and the UNICEF for COVID-19response.
On the other hand, the same work will also be carriedout under the 'e-Help Programme' through the existing networkof CSCs.
"Both the initiatives are aimed at providing supportto the frontline workforce in certain non-medical activitiesrelated to COVID-19 response and also to reach out to thevulnerable section across Assam," the letter said.
It also mentioned that the network of CSCs can be usedto provide essential services like banking,informationdissemination, counselling and telemedicine, veterinary doctorconsultation, training and awareness creation.
When contacted to know details about the initiatives,Manivannan told : "We have already started the process ofinviting applications for volunteers. In few days, around13,500 persons have registered on our website."
The ASDMA is also chalking out the guidelines andmodalities, after which these people will be trained anddeployed in all the districts, he added.
According to the concept note of the programme, eachvolunteer will be engaged for a period, varying between 10days and 60 days from April to September this year.
Asked whether the government is anticipating that theCOVID-19 crisis will continue for the next six months,Manivannan said, "We do not know how long it will continue.But we are preparing for the long haul."
For the COVID-19 scenario, the main activities of thevolunteers will be to give telephonic support to people,spread awareness on social distancing, involve in the exerciseof contact-tracing and extend emotional support to elderly,children and people with disabilities.
He said the ASDMA has already tied up with over 6,000CSCs in the state to reach out to maximum number of people inthe battle against the deadly virus.
Commenting on the development, CSC chief executiveofficer Dinesh Kumar Tyagi said, "Assam will become a modelfor addressing issues arising out of the coronavirus crisis,at panchayat level and to support citizens."
The ASDMA also plans to utilise the CSCs as stock anddistribution points for essential commodities such asgroceries and vegetables for home delivery in coordinationwith its field officers. TRBDC BDC