LUCKNOW/JAIPUR/KOLKATA/BHOPAL: Special trains and buses are taking migrant workers to their native states by the thousands everyday but they are inadvertently pushing up the COVID-19 count in their states on their return.
The rise in cases is especially true for Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and West Bengal, adding to the already stretched resources of these states. In UP, over 1,30,000 workers have returned in 114 Shramik special trains. Despite putting in place robust screening processes and quarantine protocols, over 100 migrants have tested positive across different districts.
In Rajasthan, four special trains have brought 4,639 migrants to the state. Of them, 25 have tested positive. In Jharkhand, 20 people who returned from Surat in Gujarat on May 5 are infected. In West Bengal, four trains have brought about 5,000 migrant workers while 65 buses have transported 2,200 students from Kota, Rajasthan. Of these, seven migrant workers and one student have brought the infection.
The figures for Bihar, where 82, 554 migrants and 13, 473 students from Kota have returned in 85 trains so far, will be available only from Sunday. The worst affected region in UP is Bundelkhand, where 15 of the 54 coronavirus positive cases are poor migrant workers who returned to their homes. In Siddharthnagar and Basti districts, 10 and seven migrants have tested positive at government quarantine centres.
The incoming migrants are checked for symptoms at transit centres. Those with symptoms are kept at quarantine centres while the others are sent to 14-day home quarantine. "We are also taking into account the time they have spent at the quarantine centres in the states they came from," said Principal Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad.
In Rajasthan, 25 migrants have tested positive, nine in Chittorgarh, six in Rajasamand, four in Bhilwara, three in Jalore, two in Sirohi and one in Barmer. The number of green zone districts, classified as those where there are no active cases for the past 21 days, is now two as a result, down from 10 when Lockdown 3.0 began on May 4.
The rise in cases prompted the Rajasthan government to seal its borders on Thursday. After critics slammed the decision, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot clarified that the move was aimed at regulating the entry of migrants, not to prevent them.
In West Bengal, a group of 20 migrants returned from Ajmer in Rajasthan on May 5 by a special train, the first one to the state. While three of them tested positive two days ago, four more did so on Saturday.
All of them are now admitted to a state-run hospital for medical treatment.A girl student who returned from Kota on May 1 tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday. She is a resident of Howrah and has been admitted to a private hospital. The figures in Madhya Pradesh are not alarming, only three returnees have tested positive so far.