DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday, while hearing a public interest litigation concerning arrangements for people returning from different parts of the country to the state, directed the state and central government to make suitable arrangements for their rapid testing to check if they are infected by May 15.
Till date, only thermal screening of the people who are returning to the state is being done.
Shiv Bhatt, counsel of the petitioner said, "The court also directed the volunteers of the legal service authorities of various districts and of the state to visit the quarantine centres to check the arrangments there."
The court has also asked the state government if the Food Security Act 2013 and Interstate Migrant Workmen Act 1979 is being followed in the state properly. The former is the law which ensures providing food to the underprivileged while the latter regulates the condition of service of inter-state labourers in Indian labour law.
Lawyers for the state government submitted in the court that total 49 relief camps are being run for the returning migrants.
The PIL was filed by one Sachchidanand Dabral, a resident of Haridwar. Dabral, in his PIL, alleged that proper testing of people returning from other states is not being done and thereby exposing the state to Covid-19.