LUCKNOW: With Union Ministry of Home Affairs relaxing the norms for interstate travel facilitating stranded migrants, students and tourists to go back to their native places, UP CM Yogi Adityanath issued directives to officials to keep the quarantine centres and shelter homes ready to accommodate at least 10 lakh people.
At present, UP has the facility to quarantine seven lakh people. He also asked the authorities concerned to refurbish the community kitchens to ensure uninterrupted food supplies to the migrant workers expected from other states.
The CM, on Thursday, also issued an appeal to the workers stranded in other states to be patient and not start walking towards their homes as the UP government was committed to bring each one of them back home.
“Please maintain patience which you have been showing all this long. We are making a detailed plan for your safe return after contacting states concerned. So, stay where you are and be in contact with the respective state governments. Do not
start moving on foot,” he said in a tweet on Thursday.
According to Additional Chief Secretary, home, Awanish Awasthi, the state government had been in touch with different states seeking detailed data on migrant labourers and workers of UP along with their names, mobile numbers and addresses as
well as medical reports.
Moreover, in consonance with the central guidelines, after bringing back 15,000 students from Kota, Rajasthan, over 12000 migrant workers from Haryana, now the process of bringing the workers back from Madhya Pradesh was on. This would be
followed by workers stranded in Gujarat on Friday and after that Rajasthan. As per the ACS, around 100 buses carrying 3,000 people had left the neighbouring state and likely to reach UP. Moreover, 40 buses from UP have left for MP taking the migrants who had been stranded here. However, the ACS reiterated the fact that only those migrants who had gone through thorough health check up would be allowed entry in the state.
Meanwhile, 10 districts, which have not reported a single Covid-19 positive case since the outbreak of the pandemic, are likely to get the maximum relief in terms of resumption of commercial, industrial, construction and agriculture activities, if the lockdown ends on May 3.
These districts purportedly in green zone, are likely to get maximum relaxation unlike in districts where there are cases, said a senior state government officer. In this connection, the state government departments as well as the respective district magistrates have been directed to prepare a work plan for the starting of the activities in these districts.
The sources claimed that the CM had also directed senior officers to draw up a plan for activities that could be permitted in ‘green’ and ‘orange’ zones post lockdown.
Districts that do not have enough confirmed cases to fall in ‘red zone’ category, but are being seen as potential hotspots, are part of the ‘orange zone’. While activities will get momentum in green districts, it would be restricted in orange districts while there will be no activity in the districts where 20 or more Covid-19 cases have been reported.
The CM had directed the DMs of all 75 districts to take decision over starting the activities according to the situation in the respective districts.