Govt issues guidelines on movement of migrants

Gaurav Pandey | May 4, 2020, 05:00 IST

Ranchi: As the stranded migrants return to Jharkhand, the state government on Saturday evening issued a detailed standard operating protocol, in compliance with the directions issued by the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA), for the movement of stranded persons to and from the state and directed the senior administrative and police officials to enforce the order in word and in spirit.
Acting on the guidelines of MHA, Jharkhand chief secretary Sukhdev Singh issued a letter, directing officials of various departments to bring back the stranded people to the state and send those stuck in Jharkhand back to their respective homes through rail and road routes. The letter also directed the district and health department to ensure proper screening and arrangement of quarantine facilities upon the arrival of the migrants as per the guidelines of the ministry of health and family welfare.
The chief secretary also stuck directed the deputy commissioners to provide inter-state movement pass to the residents of other states and intra-state movement pass to those who are stuck in one district and need to travel on their own or in arranged vehicles to another district in order to reach home. All the passes must be given in accordance with the MHA guidelines.
State transport secretary K Ravi Kumar has been appointed as the nodal officer for any kind of movement to and from state via rail or road routes and he is responsible to facilitate the safe return of migrants to their homes in accordance with the MHA guidelines.
“State nodal officer has to decide the origin and destination of train in coordination with railways and the assistant transport nodal officer is tasked with making a list of passengers beforehand so that the passengers can be identified and can be accommodated in coaches following social distancing norms,” the chief secretary’s letter said.
“The nodal officer will also be responsible for ensuring the screening of all passengers before and after the journey and to provide the migrants with masks, sanitizers and food before sending them to their respective districts,” the letter added.
Speaking about migrant movement via road, the letter said, “The buses will be dispatched to the neighbouring states only after a complete list of stranded persons has been finalised by the nodal officer and they have been given medical clearance by the local administration. The buses used for the transportation of migrants will be sanitized before and after the journey and the strength of passengers will be decided in accordance with social distancing norms.”
Meanwhile state government have also directed the state health authorities to ensure proper screening and medical examination of all those returning to Jharkhand and to maintain a record of each and every migrant about his medical condition, the type of quarantine suggested and his travel history. State health secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni said, “We have directed all the state health authorities to ensure that all norms are being followed while screening and the medical examination before they are sent for home or institutional quarantine.”
Meanwhile three buses from Deoghar were dispatched on Sunday to Chhattisgarh and Odisha to bring back the stranded labourers. “We have sent two buses to Raipur and one to Cuttack to bring back the migrants who have been stranded there due to the lockdown. The buses will be returning tomorrow and after proper screening and medical examination, they will be kept in home or institutional quarantine,” said Deoghar DC Nancy Sahay