The states governments in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have ordered a 14-day mandatory quarantine for the lakhs of migrant workers who have returned to their states in the past three days.

New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: The states governments in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have ordered a 14-day mandatory quarantine for the lakhs of migrant workers who have returned to their states in the past three days after the central government imposed a 21-day lockdown in the country to curb the spreading of the novel coronavirus.

UP Principal Secretary Medical and Health Amit Mohan Prasad said that the chief minister himself is monitoring the situation and has asked all the district magistrates to ensure that the workers returning to the state are quarantined at home compulsorily.

Prasad further informed that village pradhans in 60,000 village panchayats have been sensitised by the chief minister’s office and they are also informed about the persons to be quarantined.

“All of these migrant labourers have to stay in a government camp for 14 days. They would not be allowed to return to their homes,” said UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, as quoted by NDTV.

Similarly, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has also issued a similar order, asking authorities to set-up relief camps for the migrant workers. In his order, the Bihar Chief Minister said that the migrants will be allowed to go home after the 14-day mandatory quarantine period.

On Saturday, Kumar has also held a high-level review meeting to discuss COVID-19, bird flu, swine flu and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES).

"Chief Minister Kumar took stock of the situation arising due to these diseases and also gave the guidelines for the same. He also asked officials to be concerned about the unnatural death of the birds and advised them to take all the required steps to check the spread of bird flu," a press statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) reads.

"Issuing the guidelines regarding AES, Chief Minister Kumar asked the officials to take necessary steps from now and make people aware through campaigns. He also asked officials to ensure cleanliness and safety precautions in areas that are prone to be affected by AES," the statement added.

Thousands of migrant labourers were left without jobs after the government imposed a 21-day lockdown in the nation. Following this, thousands of migrant labourers from Delhi, Haryana and other parts of the country have started returning to their native villages.

Posted By: Aalok Sensharma