Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh on Thursday decided to stop all illegal movement of workers on their border.
Senior officers of the bordering districts of the two states discussed the coordination needed to prevent the spread of Covid-19 by ensuring safe movement of workers from both sides at the inter-state check post at Navatola.
They decided not to allow illegal movement of workers and to extend transport facilities, create an awareness campaign among border residents and control criminal activities including smuggling. Deepak Soni said that during the lockdown, due to lack of awareness, workers are arriving at the border area and entering the two states through forested areas. This is posing a major challenge.
If any of these workers are coronavirus carriers, then they can spread the pandemic. If such workers are traced, their health must be checked and then they can be permitted to proceed.
It was decided that workers wanting to return to Singrauli district through the check post will be provided bus to travel after a health check-up.
The police officials agreed to end smuggling of drugs, liquor, arms and commercial timber by establishing coordination with officials of the Forest and Revenue departments.