Madhya Pradesh To Bring Back Workers Stranded In Other States

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on Friday announced that his government will bring back migrant workers from the state who are stranded in various parts of the country because of the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown.

Mr Chauhan has discussed the operation with the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Family members of the workers will be allowed to leave Madhya Pradesh to bring them back, he said.

Along with this, stranded workers from other states in Madhya Pradesh will also be allowed to go to their states.

For this, they will have to use their own means or those provided by their state governments.

Workers from Madhya Pradesh who are stuck in different districts of the state will also be able to return to their homes, Mr Chauhan announced.

Officials are being instructed to arrange the operation keeping social distancing requirements in mind, the Chief Minister said.

Arrangements will be made for screening and testing the workers at the borders of the state and districts as well.

However, no workers will be allowed to travel from the infected areas of the state and from the worst-hit Indore district.

Madhya Pradesh reported 75 new coronavirus cases on Friday, taking the state's tally to 1,846 with 37 people testing positive in capital Bhopal alone, health officials said.

Seven more people died from COVID-19 in the state since Thursday night, which increased the number of deaths to 92, the officials said.

According to the health officials, Indore continues to remain at the top with 1,029 cases, the highest in the state, followed by Bhopal at 360, Ujjain at 102 and Khargone at 61.

As many as 463 areas across the affected cities in the state have been declared as containment zones to curb the spread of the virus.

Migrant workers from various states were left stranded last month when the central government abruptly announced a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Opposition parties have accused the government of failing to plan and prepare for the shutdown that came nearly two months after India reported its first case.

Left without income, food and shelter many workers tried to return to their home states on foot, walking hundreds of kilometres.