|Directing officials to arrange one lakh beds for dedicated Covid hospitals across the state, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath stressed that the government would provide transport and food to migrant workers returning from other states on foot or by bicycle.
At a meeting with Team 11 officials in Lucknow on Monday, Yogi said that no one should be allowed to travel on foot or by bicycle and they be provided transport, food and other essentials besides checking them up medically.
“If anyone (travelling by bicycle, bike or on foot) is found, they should be sent to respective districts after getting personal details and medical check-ups. Migrant labourers should be treated with respect and be subjected to health check-up in quarantine centres too,” he said.
The chief minister reaffirmed that his government was also sending migrants of other states back to their native places and asked officials to make a district-wise list of such persons.
“The state government is also in touch with External Affairs Ministry to send back 2,000 Nepali citizens stranded in the state due to lock -down,” he said.
Yogi said that workers reaching the state were being asked to fill a form regarding their skill as it would enable them to get jobs easily.
“The government will provide 20 lakh jobs to migrant workers. Besides giving them free transport up to their homes, free ration kits, they are also being given Rs 1,000 cash,” the chief minister informed .
Yogi directed officials to add 25,000 beds in Level-1, Level-2 and Level-3 Covid hospitals by May 20 and ensure bed capacity of one lakh by May end. He said that besides effective check on medical infection, it had to be ensured that there was no infection from mandis.
‘’There will be an influx of migrant labourers during the next ten days, hence alertness at all levels is required with proper accountability,’’ he said.
Additional Chief Secretary Awanish Awasthi said on Monday that 2.20 lakh migrant labourers had already been brought back to the state by 184 special trains and another one lakh reached the state through other means of transport. “In total, 3.23 lakh workers have reached the state in the past four days and every day, at least 55 special trains are reaching UP,” he added.
“UP has been allocated maximum special trains for migrant workers and 55 trains would be reaching 42 stations of the state on Monday. Gorakhpur received a record 28 trains carrying over 30,000 workers while 28 trains reached Lucknow besides Kanpur (7), Jaunpur (9), Prayagraj (11), Gonda (8), Varanasi (8) and Unnao (7),” Awasthi said.
Asking employers to ensure payment of honorarium to industrial workers during lockdown, the chief minister said the workers should be motivated to go to work in units which have resumed operations. He also directed that food grain be distributed among the labourers.
Awasthi said that IAS and senior PCS officers had already been nominated to assist district magistrates in 75 districts in overseeing quarantine centres, shelter homes and community kitchens for migrants returning to UP. He said that these officers should be asked to coordinate cleanliness, food supply etc. at quarantine centres/shelter homes.
The additional chief secretary also said that the chief minister had issued directive to ramp up activities at medical colleges while nominating officers in-charge (prabhari officers) for Covid and non-Covid hospitals.
The chief minister also asserted that besides training doctors and other health staff for prevention against infection, adequate quantity of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, N-95 masks and sanitiser should be provided to them.
Meanwhile, on the chief minister’s instructions, lockdown norms have been made stricter in Agra, Kanpur and Meerut, where a team of officials have been rushed to control the spread of coronavirus .
There are 475 hotspots in 311 police station areas covering 8.90 lakh houses and a population of 49.92 lakh in these districts.