Uddhav Thackeray was speaking in a live webcast after hundreds of migrant workers gathered near Bandra railway station here, seeking to head back home, even as country-wide lockdown was extended till May 3.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday tried to reassure migrant workers who are stranded in the state that lockdown is not “lock-up”, and appealed them to face the “challenge” of coronavirus by staying back.

He was speaking in a live webcast after hundreds of migrant workers gathered near Bandra railway station here, seeking to head back home, even as country-wide lockdown was extended till May 3.

The Chief Minister spoke briefly in Hindi as he made a direct appeal to the migrants.

Thackeray also said his government was working on how to lift the lockdown and resume industrial activities.

Rising number of cases in Mumbai and Pune was a cause of concern, he admitted. Maharashtra has conducted maximum number of coronavirus tests and has asked the Centre to allow experimental plasma treatment, he said.