Allow Kannadigas to return from other states, Congress demands B S Yediyurappa

MANGALURU: Dakshina Kannada District Congress Committee (DCC) has asked chief minister B S Yediyurappa and district minister Kota Shrinivas Poojari to make all necessary arrangements for the transportation of over 50,000 Kannadigas stranded in Maharashtra and other states. The DCC has also brought to the notice of the government about lacunae in providing institutional quarantine facilities for those who are returning from foreign countries and other states.
In a memorandum, the opposition party also asked the government to introduce flights to bring Kannadigas home from Gulf and other foreign countries.
DCC president K Harish Kumar told TOI that the government has not extended any support to over 50,000 Kannadigas stranded in Maharashtra and other neighbouring states.
“Kannadigas in other states are in anger due to negligence on part of the Karnataka government. Though the central government has cleared all hurdles for inter-state travel, Kannadigas, especially those from coastal districts, are still stranded in various states due to the apathy of district administrations in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts,” Kumar said.
Alleging lacunae in institutional quarantine facilities in Dakshina Kannada district, Kumar said the government should take initiatives to provide better amenities for all Kannadigas arriving from foreign countries and other states.
The government should arrange special flights to bring Kannadigas from foreign countries. Meanwhile, flights and train services should be resumed for the convenience of people from Coastal districts who are working in remote places. Similarly, special trains should be arranged to ferry thousands of migrant labourers from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and other states, who are still stranded in coastal districts, he added.