Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government will bring back stranded Odia migrant workers form Gujarat amid the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. A team of two senior officers from each the State will coordinate the return of lakhs of Odia workers to Odisha.
Decision to this effect was taken in a meeting held between Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his Gujarat counterpart Vijay Rupani through videoconferencing on Sunday. Union Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who belongs to Odisha, also attended the VC from New Delhi.
The stranded Odias will be brought mainly by bus. Decision on other mode of transportation will be taken after proper examination of the prevailing situation, said a Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) release.
However, registration has been made mandatory for those who wish to return Odisha. They have to undergo 14-day quarantine upon their arrival in the State.
It was decided in the meeting that the Government of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh will be requested to waive road tax of the buses carrying the stranded migrant Odia workers.
The Government has made it mandatory for everyone, who wants to come back to Odisha, to register them on the portal.
Anticipating the return of about 5 lakh Odia people, including migrant workers, students, professionals, pilgrims and others, to the State after lifting of the lockdown on May 3, the Odisha Government on Friday launched a portal – covid19.odisha.gov.in- for registration of names to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The migrant workers will have to register their name and address in the portal.
