BHUBANESWAR: Faced with the possibility of return of more than five lakh migrant workers after the nationwide lockdown is lifted on May 3, the Odisha Government on Wednesday said no one will be allowed into the State without prior registration on the dedicated portal. 

The registration process will be started from Friday. The returnees will be subjected to stringent screening procedures and remain in compulsory quarantine at institutional facilities for 14 days before being allowed to mingle with family members. 

“They will not be allowed to go home under any circumstances,” said Principal Secretary, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water department, Deoranjan Kumar Singh. Singh said either the person can register on the portal himself or a family member can do it on his behalf. A relative can also fill up a form and submit it at the gram panchayat (GP) office for registration.

The block development officers will constitute a five-member team for every panchayat along with a nodal officer for monitoring the process from migrants’ return to completion of quarantine. The Government will make arrangements for their transportation from railway stations and bus stands. “About 7,000 temporary medical camps with 2 lakh beds have been set up at the GPs for keeping the returnees. The number of beds in Ganjam and Kendrapara districts, where more people are expected to return, will be increased,” he said.

Odisha steels itself for return of migrants 

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday administered oath to 6,798 sarpanchs through video conferencing and urged them to work dedicatedly to stop the spread of Covid-19 in their areas. The sarpanchs took the pledge to keep people coming from outside the State in quarantine and to look after their stay, food and medicine.

The Chief Minister advised the sarpanchs to ensure mandatory registration at panchayat level for all who are returning from outside. “Family members and relatives of those persons are only authorised to register the incoming persons for quarantine. An incentive of `2,000 per person will be provided on successful completion of the quarantine period,” he said. Naveen called upon the panchayati raj representatives to ensure strict implementation of lockdown rules. The Chief Minister had earlier delegated powers of a district collector to the sarpanchs to aid the fight against coronavirus and ensure mandatory quarantine of returnees at the panchayats.