Coronavirus: Uttar Pradesh has made massive preparations to receive its stranded people (File)
A number of states are making preparations for sending and receiving migrant workers a day after the Union home ministry gave a clearance for the movement of stranded labourers, students and tourists. Rajasthan was the first off the block, ferrying out around 40,000 migrant workers by bus since morning. Many states, especially those from the south, have asked that the Centre run special trains for the migrants. Uttar Pradesh has made massive preparations to receive its stranded people. The Yogi Adityanath government -- which has so far brought back 12,000 stranded workers from Haryana -- has prepared quarantine facilities for 10 lakh people.
Here are the top 10 developments in this coronavirus story:
Several states, including Punjab, Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and some southern states, have asked that trains be made available to ferry back the migrants, citing the distance and the difficult logistics of bus travel. The Central guidelines say the people should go by road and the states should make arrangements for the transportation.
The matter came up today at a virtual meeting between the Union Cabinet Secretary and state representatives. The Centre said it would look into it. Bihar was among the first to raise objections. Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi tweeted that the Centre must operate special trains to transport "migrants from distant places". Punjab,. which has around a million migrant labourers, has written to the Prime Minister, asking for trains.
In Rajasthan, around 26,000 people were transported to the borders of Madhya Pradesh today. Another 2,000 were moved to the Haryana border. Migrants from Gujarat are also being sent back. Most of the labourers had come to look for work during the harvest season, officials said.
More than 6 lakh migrants have registered with the Rajasthan government, asking for help to get home. They are being screened for coronavirus symptoms and those who do not have any, are being allowed to proceed, the state home minister said.
At a meeting this morning, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered that quarantine facilities and shelter homes be set up across the state for 10 lakh people. This would include the existing capacity of around 7 lakh.
Yogi Adityanath has also ordered that all borders of the state be sealed completely and appealed to migrant workers and their families not to try walking home. Talks are on with state governments to bring them home by bus, he said.
Uttar Pradesh has already transported migrants thrice, including the homecoming of around 11,500 stranded students from Rajasthan's Kota. Over the weekend, Uttar Pradesh brought back 12,000 migrant workers from neighbouring Haryana. Also, 15,000 students from Prayagraj have been sent back to their homes across the state.
The Uttar Pradesh government brought back 4 lakh migrant workers from Delhi when the lockdown started. They were quarantined and then sent home. Students from the state who are stranded in Delhi will also be brought back. A list is currently being prepared, officials said.
Yesterday, the Centre said that migrant labourers, students, pilgrims or tourists who do not have symptoms of coronavirus can return to their home states. The home ministry issued a set of guidelines, in which it asked states to appoint nodal bodies and draw up protocols for the movement of the stranded people.
The lockdown was announced by PM Modi on March 25, leaving lakhs of migrant labourers across the country without an income and any means of going back home. Many tried to make their way home on foot. Some did not make it, collapsing hours away from home after the hard trek, often without enough food or water.
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