According to the civic body data, the Chennai Corporation has approved 618 applications for 8,264 travellers as on Friday, after the State government extended the e-pass facility for the guest workers recently.

“The passes were applied by the employees and manpower agencies. However, due to the lack of sufficient interstate transport facilities, an influx of guest workers is yet to start. We already have a system to quarantine and test interstate travellers,” an official said. The official added that the civic body will keep the workers under quarantine for seven days and samples will be tested once they reach the State. A second test would be conducted on fifth or sixth before sending them to the destination if they test negative. “If the returnees had tested samples in the originating state, they will be kept in the quarantine for three days. However, they should also be subjected to a confirmatory test,” he said. Meanwhile, a combined study was conducted by as many as 29 NGOs in six south Indian states, including Puducherry.

According to the study, Tamil Nadu is the only State where guest workers, who want to come back to work, are greater than the number of workers not wishing to return. The study was conducted during May when the repatriation of guest workers began across the country. As many as 15,799 guest workers had participated in the study.

“Despite the fact that Tamil Nadu was one of the states where labourers received the least amount of wages, the State seems to be popular among the workers. Also, the exploitation level is also high,” the study said.

Tamil Nadu is one of the states where workers feel safe and comfortable to stay in and work together with their families, as per the study. It may be noted that during the mass COVID-19 stimulated repatriation, around 5 lakh guest workers left the State.