NUAPADA: With hundreds of migrant labourers returning through Khariar border, Nuapada police had to enforce a shutdown in Khariar road town in two phases in the last 24 hours. As many as 929 migrants entered Nuapada district on Thursday and 833 arrived on Friday following which police enforced a complete shutdown from 12 pm to 6 pm on Thursday and again from 6 am to 6 pm on Friday to register the labourers and arrange transport to their native places.
The entry point of Nuapada from Khariar Road side is one of the major entry points in the district connecting several nearby states to Odisha. As the migrants started returning to the State from May 3, officials of Jonk police station set-up a border check post at Khariar road to keep track of the returnees and register them.In last 24 hours, 1762 migrants returned to the district through the border.
IIC of Jonk police station, Aniruddha Muduli said all the migrants came either on foot or bicycles. Most of them were dropped by buses till the State border and walked down till the check post.
The returnees had come from Mumbai, Gujarat, Hyderabad and Chhattisgarh and moving to their villages in Balangir, Kalahandi and Nuapada districts, he said. Buses were arranged to send them back to their native places.
Deputy Collector, Nuapada, Karna Suna said that as many as 1,560 migrants have returned to Nuapada district since May 3, through the check post at Khariar road.