Migrants leave, but hope to return

Lawmaker helps bring back Kannadigas from Goa
Migrants wait for confirmation from the authorities about their journey home, in Bengaluru on Saturday | Pandarinath B
Migrants wait for confirmation from the authorities about their journey home, in Bengaluru on Saturday | Pandarinath B

VIJAYAPURA: The stranded migrant workers at the Goa-Karnataka border heaved a sigh of relief on Saturday after the Goa Government agreed to allow them to travel to their hometowns. This follows Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa’s talks with Goa after A S Patil Nadahalli, MLA, apprised him of the situation.

Earlier, Nadahalli rushed to the Chorla border in Goa where at least 300 migrants from Vijayapura district were stranded after the officials refused to allow them to cross the Goa-Karnataka border. When his efforts to persuade the Goan officials on the issue did not yield any result, he brought it to the notice of Yediyurappa, who held talks with the top officials of Goa. 

As the district administrations of Belagavi and Vijayapura learnt about Goa giving permission, the officials of the respective districts arrived at the Khanapur checkpost. Meanwhile, the migrant workers were helped to fill an online application at the check-post seeking permission for the inter-state travel.

The district administration of Belagavi immediately approved all the applications of the migrants and permitted them to travel their hometowns after mandatory medical checkup. The authorities arranged as many as 10 buses to ferry the migrant workers to their hometowns. 

Speaking to TNSE, Nadahalli said, “After the talks, we succeeded in bringing back over 300 migrants to their hometowns. We have instructed everyone to be under mandatory home quarantine for the next two weeks. We assure them that the state government is with the people and efforts are underway to bring back all the migrants of the state residing in other states

Govt supplies 5K food packets to migrants 
The state government has a food distribution system in place wherein 5,000 food packets are handed over to migrants boarding trains. “It is a round-the-clock operation undertaken by the labour department, Railways, police and NGOs,” said a state government official. Mercy Mission, a group of NGOs, is ensuring the meals are prepared in Basavangudi,” he said. ENS

State writes to Himachal, Guj govts 
Bengaluru: The Karnataka state government has written to state governments of both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh seeking their consent to run migrant special trains to their states, said a senior state government official. The state had earlier written to nine other state governments in connection with the same, he added.ENS

Kerala docs, nurses fly to UAE to fight Covid-19 pandemic
Kochi: A  team of doctors and nurses from the state has flown to the UAE to help that country fight the Covid-19 pandemic. The UAE government had requested the Indian government to send medics and health workers to bolster efforts to counter the spread of pandemic and the Centre promptly granted permission. Following the green light, a team of 88 health workers, including 38 from Kerala, left to UAE on Saturday.  Among the hospital group, Aster DM Healthcare was the first to respond to the UAE’s request. Most of the 88 healthcare professionals that undertook the mission are from the group. The batch also includes healthcare professionals employed in the UAE.ENS

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