PATNA: The Bihar government has undertaken an initiative whereby it is distributing condoms and contraceptive pills amongst the migrant workers who have returned from across the country as part of its efforts to control the population.

The state government has collaborated with an NGO named 'Care India' to carry out this exercise which has been initiated at all quarantine centres in Bihar since May 20.

The government along with the NGO has been distributing condoms and contraceptive pills amongst the migrant workers when they leave for their homes after undergoing the mandatory 14-day quarantine period.

The ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers have been deployed for distributing contraceptive pills amongst women. The condoms are being distributed amongst men by the NGO's Family Planning Coordinators and Block-level executives.

"I have been given a packet containing condoms and anti-pregnancy pills when I along with 20 others were discharged from the quarantine centre recently", a migrant-labourer (name withheld on his request) said from Gopalganj while appreciating the initiative.

In fact, a reliable source from the state health department said, the just before their discharge from the quarantine centres, the migrant workers are counselled on the ways of safe family planning without hampering conjugal life.

According to a rough estimate, more than 2 lakhs of family planning kits have been distributed among the migrant labourers so far.