Migrant workers board a bus to go for screening before heading to the railway station, from where their will board trains to their native places, in Chandigarh on Wednesday. Express Photo Jasbir Malhi
Migrants stranded in the buffer zone of Bapu Dham Colony, Sector 26, a Covid-19 hotspot, are being evacuated and sent to their native states over the last two days.
As many as 817 migrants of UP, Bihar, Jammu and UT Kashmir have been sent back to their natives places since May 26. The development came after residents highlighted what they called glaring gaps in the steps taken by the Chandigarh administration to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak in the colony.
So far, 279 Covid-19 cases have been reported in Chandigarh, of which 209 are from Bapu Dham Colony-26.
A senior officer said, “We have started evacuating stranded migrants from the buffer zone, which has not witnessed a single case of Covid-19. Migrants belonging to UP and Bihar are being sent in trains. Migrants of Jammu & Kashmir were sent back in buses of the states. These migrants include registered and non-registered. We are preparing a list of these migrants in the buffer zone according to their home states and will contact our counterparts in their states. We are not allowing anyone to enter and exit the containment zones in the colony.”
Nodal officer Rajeev Tiwari said, “Of 817, 211 stranded persons were from J&K. They were sent in buses. Special arrangements are being made to evacuate stranded migrants in the buffer zone.”
Recently, a meeting between area councillor Dalip Sharma and senior administrative officers took place at UT Secretariat, Sector 9. The issue of stranded migrants in the buffer zone was discussed.