E-Paper
UP will pay for train travel of its migrant workers: Yogi to states
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has asked various state governments not to charge any money from UP migrant workers for their train travels to UP.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has asked various state governments not to charge any money from UP migrant workers for their train travels to UP.
“UP government would bring them home and will bear the cost of their train travels,” he said and asked the officers concerned to arrange trains from all the states from where UP migrants wish to return.
Given the numerous road accidents involving vehicles carrying migrant workers, Yogi said, “Police and transport department must coordinate well between themselves to curb the accidents.”
The chief minister said this on Tuesday at the daily lockdown review meeting with the Covid-19 containment team--the Team-11.
Yogi at the meeting said so far the state government had fetched 16 lakh migrant workers back to the state. A total of 8.52 lakh migrant workers have come on 656 special trains from different states.
“In next two days, 258 more special trains--the Shramik Express--will arrive with migrant workers from other states taking the total number of Shramik Express to UP to 914. And the state roadways have readied 12,000 buses for dropping the migrant workers to their home districts. Apart from these, 200 buses have been kept on standby by each district administration in the state that is 15,000 buses are on standby. So far as many as 16 lakh migrant workers have returned to UP safely.”
He instructed the officials to follow proper protocol with migrant workers’ health screening, testing of those with symptoms, quarantine and home quarantine. He also asked for installation of CCTV cameras at quarantine centres and community kitchens. “Also arrange pulse oxymeters at the quarantine centres to check the level of oxygen in the blood,” he said.
For jobs for migrant workers, Yogi asked the officers concerned to increase the number of MNREGS (rural employment scheme) projects.
The chief minister said that each district would have at least one Covid-19 testing lab and said that only ICMR approved labs would do Covid-19 tests and action should be taken against any such lab that is found doing Covid-19 testing without ICMR approval.
The state medical health minister Suresh Khanna, the state health minister Jai Pratap Singh, the minister of state for health Atul Garg and all the officers concerned in Team-11 were present at the meeting.
