Bhubaneswar: With lockdown being implemented in Maharashtra and Delhi, migrant workers have again started returning to Odisha. In a bid to prevent them from spreading Covid-19 in the state, the government is once more reactivating the quarantine centres.
“The government is once again setting up quarantine centres at Zilla Parishad (ZP) level in every block for migrant workers returning home. If the number of returnees increase, such centres will be set up at panchayat level also,” Labour Minister Sushant Singh said Wednesday. The district administrations have been given power to open quarantine centres and increase the number of beds, the minister added.
About 10 lakh migrants returned to Odisha from different states when lockdown was implemented last year. “Many of them have not gone back to their workplaces since restrictions were eased. So we are expecting lesser number of returnees this year,” Singh pointed out.
The government has asked the municipality, NAC and block administrations to closely monitor the return of the migrant workers. All returnees will have to spend in isolation at the quarantine centres before they can go back home.
Last year, the Odisha government had paid `2,000 to each migrant worker as an initial relief from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF).
Commenting on enforcement of lockdown in some states, Singh said, “Due to it, the situation was under control last year. But, now, it has gone out of control as some states are reporting more than 1,00,000 active cases.”
