COVID-19 Lockdown: Migrants Start Arriving In Odisha, 14-Day Quarantine Mandatory

Bhubaneswar: Odisha government now faces a daunting task to quarantine the migrant workers and students who are returning from different States. As per reports, the first batch of students from Odisha who were stranded in Kota of Rajasthan reached Rourkela by road on Saturday.

Sources said 114 students from Landmark City and Mahavir Nagar of Kota reached Rourkela in four buses today via Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Sambalpur and Jharsuguda.

Senior officials informed that all the students were initially screened in Kota and their health condition was reviewed by experts after their arrival in Rourkela today. All of them will now undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine as per the guidelines of the State government.

Bus carrying #Odisha students from Kota in Rajasthan reaches Rourkela amid #COVID19Lockdown; #OTV correspondent Paban Kumar Tiwari (@paban9439) shares details pic.twitter.com/dgyXMJ6J67

— OTV (@otvnews) May 2, 2020

Apart from Kota, several people of the State who were stranded due to COVID-19 lockdown in Surat are also returning to Ganjam district. As many as 110 migrant workers reached Bhanjanagar in two buses yesterday. All of them have been reportedly kept at Kulad Vidyapitha where they will remain in quarantine for 14 days.

“We decided to return as we faced problems in getting food and other amenities. We were not feeling safe there due to the continuous rise in the COVID-19 cases,” said a Surat returnee of Buguda block.

Another 56 persons reached Bhadrak from Surat in the wee hours today. Out of the total returnees, 38 are from Bhadrak district, six each from Kendrapara and Khurda and three persons each from Balasore and Jagatsinghpur district.

“We had left Surat on April 29. We faced problems in arranging food and water during the journey as shops were closed due to the lockdown,” said a returnee from Surat.

A special train carrying 1,140 Odia migrants also left for Odisha from Aluva railway station in Kerala yesterday. The migrants were stranded in Kochi region of Kerala after enforcement of the nation-wide lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has been decided to run ‘Shramik Special’ trains from Labour Day (May 1) for carrying stranded migrants to their respective States. These trains will run from point-to-point basis.

The State government has made adequate provisions for screening of the returnees, who will arrive by road, at 11 check-points identified at different parts of the State.

Meanwhile, all the returnees will be stamped with indelible ink with entry date and necessary arrangements have been made for their accommodation at various quarantine centres in both urban and rural areas.

Special passenger trains to ferry stranded migrant workers, tourists, students & other persons back to their homes amid the #COVID19India lockdown. Here's the list of the trains which includes three trains to #Odisha#IndiaFightsCorona #Covid_19india pic.twitter.com/pmDfp3Mtw0

— OTV (@otvnews) May 2, 2020