Odisha government issues SOP to send back stranded workers to their home states
BHUBANESWAR: The state government has started process to send back over 60,000 migrant workers from different states, stuck in various temporary shelters in Odisha, to their home states.
A standard operating procedure (SOP) has been issued to all collectors and municipal commissioners by the revenue and disaster management department to ensure smooth return of the “guest workers” by road or rail.
In the SOP, special relief commissioner PK Jena asked all collectors and municipal commissioners to obtain prior approval of their counterparts from recipient states before departure of any train or bus carrying the migrant workers from their districts/jurisdictions.
While the collectors and municipal commissioners are authorised to issue transit pass for road journey by bus or vans, they have been asked to inform details about passengers, destination (district/block) and their mobile numbers to their counterparts or state coordinators in the recipient states.
“One of the passengers, having a smartphone, may be designated as the group coordinator, whose mobile number may be passed on to the recipient collector/municipal commissioner or state coordinator,” said Jena.
For easier logistics, the SRC asked the collectors and municipal commissioners to divide the returnees in groups according to their districts and blocks while boarding buses/vans.
The recipient states will decide the destination station for special trains and border check points for those travelling by buses.
Before allowing the stranded people to travel, they will be screened for health status by the authorities in Odisha, which is a mandatory step as per the guidelines issued by the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) on movement of stranded workers.
No person or group of persons will be allowed to travel unless they have an appropriate authorisation issued by the designated officers, said the SOP.
Official sources said the state government is also in touch with railways and other state governments to arrange special trains to send back the stranded people from Odisha.
Senior officers have also been appointed by the state government to coordinate with different states for movement of stranded people.
Though around 90,000 workers from different states were given temporary shelters in more than 2500 transit camps due to the lockdown, state government sources said over 30,000 of such workers rejoined their respective work places.
Most of the stranded people accommodated in temporary shelters are from West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh, said official sources.
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