Naidu urges Centre, Palaniswamy to provide relief to migrant workers stuck in Tamil Nadu

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu appealed to the Centre and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy to provide assistance to more than 2,000 Telugu migrant workers stranded in TN due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

According to a press release of the TDP, Chandrababu Naidu has written to Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla stating that many fishermen and construction workers stranded at different places in Chennai, Erode, and Tirupur districts among others and are faced with difficulties due to the lockdown. Due to the lack of identity documents, the workers are unable to avail government benefits.

"On behalf of those families and my own behalf, I appeal to you to provide immediate relief by providing them with shelter, food, water, medical aid, and other essential commodities," the letter reads.

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Chandrababu Naidu praises Palaniswamy

The TDP leader also wrote to Palaniswamy and appreciated the State government's efforts in easing the hardships of poor people amid nationwide lockdown. He further highlighted the difficulties faced by Telugu migrants in many parts of Tamil Nadu. 

"In this backdrop, I would like to bring to your notice about many Telugu people stranded in Chennai and various other parts of Tamil Nadu. Many Telugu people who have come to Tamil Nadu for livelihood are stranded at places like Taramani, Velachery, Avadi, and Ambatur in Chennai. Further, in districts like Thiruvallur, Erode, and Tirupur, many Telugu workers are stranded due to COVID-19 lockdown," Chandrababu Naidu wrote. 

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Healthy Diet for stranded migrant workers in Andhra

While the nation has been trying to strictly enforce the 21-day lockdown, a challenge cropped up when migrant workers who wanted to head back to their hometowns in other states. While many states have set up camps in various cities to accommodate the workers, the Andhra Pradesh government has gone one step further in taking care of them.

Over and above the facilities prescribed by the Centre like accommodation, food, water and other essentials, the Andhra Pradesh government is providing the stranded workers with commodities like clothes, toothpaste, soaps, shampoos, blankets, oil and other essentials. The idea is to ensure that they comfortably stay put at the relief centres during the lockdown period.

Authorities in each district have started following the 'Gorumudda' menu to ensure that the workers stay healthy and ensure a continuous supply of all possible nutrients. The vast menu for the migrants includes boiled eggs, egg curry, chickpeas, tomato dal, asparagus, Pulihora (tamarind rice), vegetable rice, aloo kurma and khichdi. Each day, a variety of items from the menu is served.

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(with inputs from ANI)