States should take care of migrants, not press them to return: Bihar Speaker

PATNA Bihar’s Legislative Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha on Monday said people from the state working elsewhere in the country as well as students should not be subjected to undue pressure to return to the state in the midst of the pandemic, which has acquired alarming proportions in the last one month across the country

PATNA

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Bihar’s Legislative Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha on Monday said people from the state working elsewhere in the country as well as students should not be subjected to undue pressure to return to the state in the midst of the pandemic, which has acquired alarming proportions in the last one month across the country.

He was speaking at the presiding officers’ virtual meeting under the chairmanship of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on the topic “Role of public representatives in the prevailing Covid-19 situation”.

This comes barely a day after chief minister Nitish Kumar appealed to all the Bihar migrants living in other states to return as early as possible, if they so wished.

Sinha said that in this hour of crisis, the respective state governments should make adequate arrangement and take care of the migrants so that they did not have the feeling of alienation. “The Bihari migrants who are in jobs or work as labourers and the students should also be provided medical facilities in the states they have been staying in,” he said.

Sinha said that on the advice of Om Birla, Bihar Legislative Assembly would soon set up a control room. “I appeal to all the members of the Vidhan Sabha to set up a control room in their respective constituencies,” he said.

Earlier this week, Speaker had also ordered closure of Bihar Assembly secretariat till April 25 after 44 officials and staff tested positive within three days.