Odisha CM Patnaik discusses return of migrants with Karnataka, Andhra CMs

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday held a video conference with his counterparts in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to discuss the return of the Odias stranded in their states. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also joined the discussion from Delhi.

During the meeting, Patnaik thanked BS Yediyurappa and Jagan Mohan Reddy for looking after the needs of the stranded people from Odisha in their respective states. Pradhan agreed to coordinate between the states for the smooth movement of the people stranded in the south Indian states to Odisha. 

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Requesting the CMs to facilitate the return of the stranded people, Naveen Patnaik asked the Chief Secretaries of both states to create a road map for their return to Odisha. The numbers of returnees, mandatory registration, and health checkups was also discussed during the video conferencing.

Earlier, Naveen Patnaik had also discussed the matter with the Chief Ministers of Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu.

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Stranded migrants return to Odisha

Naveen Patnaik's talks with Karnataka CM and Andhra Pradesh CM came after several migrant workers returned from Gujarat by specially arranged buses, while a group of students also came back to Odisha from Kota in Rajasthan. A special train carrying around 1200 people is also on its way to Odisha from Kerala, officials said.

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The Odias stranded across the country have to register their names with Aadhaar and mobile phone numbers in a portal launched by Odisha government. On their arrival in the state, the returnees will have to undergo mandatory quarantine in Odisha.

The state government has opened a large number of temporary medical camps and quarantine centres in all the 6,798 gram panchayats and over 100 urban local bodies to keep the returnees in quarantine before allowing them to go to their houses.

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(With inputs from agencies)