VIJAYAWADA: With the Central government allowing intra-state and inter-state transportation, migrants across the country are eager to return home. While more than 30,000 people abroad have registered on the government website, 96,559 people have registered to return to Andhra Pradesh. This apart, 70,208 migrants have shown a willingness to leave AP for their hometowns. However, these figures do not include migrant workers and the labourer-class.
“After it was learnt that local police stations issued passes to people to travel from Telangana to Andhra Pradesh, AP Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney informed her Telangana counterpart Somesh Kumar that passes should only be issued by the DGP’s office. Further, they must only be granted in case of emergencies such as a death in the family, marriage, health complications and pregnancy-related issues, she pointed out,” Principal Secretary (Transport) and Covid-19 task force committee chairman M T Krishna Babu told TNIE. However, people who want to go to Telangana from AP are given passes, he added.
He further said migrants have been divided into categories such as pilgrims, students, workers and tourists. “We are now only allowing and prioritising those who are in real distress, such as workers — not those who are in the comfort of their homes, as the numbers are large and it is not logistically possible for any State government to allow them to shift individually,” he said.
On the challenges being faced, he said each state has its own website, so migrants have to register on the site of their home state as well as that of the state they live in. The Centre has been asked to provide a common platform, he added.With 51,738 people, Telangana tops the list of states with migrants wanting to return to Andhra Pradesh.Interview: