BHUBANESWAR : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday sought an uniform standard operating procedure (SOP) for the entire country for return of people from other states to their homeland.
The issue was raised by Naveen during the videoconference of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with CMs on management of coronavirus pandemic in the country.
“There should be a national SOP for smooth movement of stranded persons including students, workers, pilgrims, patients and professionals,” the Chief Minister said. He also emphasised improvement of testing facilities for detection of Covid-19 cases.
Official sources said so far 4.86 lakh people from Odisha in other states have registered in the Government portal to return home. About 15,000 buses will be required to bring them back.
Though Odisha Government is ready to have all the workers home, it has requested the Centre to ensure that they are tested before their return. Sources said the Chief Minister also wanted the nationwide lockdown to be extended beyond May 3. State Health Minister Naba Kishore Das, who was present at the meeting, also hinted that extension is likely.
“There is a need to extend the Covid-19 lockdown for another month. Even Health ministers of other states suggested it during our earlier discussion,” he said. Das said, the Centre is likely to come up with a clear guideline by April 30 with regard to bringing migrants home. “As a precautionary measure, we had requested states to conduct Covid- 19 testing of migrants before sending them to Odisha.
The good thing is they have agreed to our demand.” Meanwhile, 228 migrant workers from Surat in Gujarat have already started their homeward journey in four special buses arranged by the Gujarat Government. IAS officer in-charge of Gujarat, Nitin Jawale said the return of the migrant workers today has taken place as per the decision taken by Naveen Patnaik and his counterpart Vijay Rupani.