Andhra uses village secretariat buildings to ready 1 lakh quarantine beds for people returning to state

AP has formulated an action plan to bring back about two lakh of its people held up in 13 states, while ensuring the safe passage of 12,794 migrants from AP to their home states

The Andhra Pradesh government is making use of its village secretariat buildings as quarantine centres with plans to accommodate even over one lakh people.

According to Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas, Andhra has formulated an action plan to bring back about two lakh of its migrants held up in 13 states. At same time, the state would ensure the safe passage of 12,794 migrants in AP to their home states.

Nine special trains have been arranged to bring back Andhra migrants stranded in other states. Efforts are on to provide them with food and other facilities where they are stuck in coordination with respective state governments.

The state is ensuring facilities at various quarantine centres are in place, while readying over one lakh beds at village secretariats, with nutritious food, hygienic toilets for the returnees without any compromise, said the minister.

Since the central government has eased restrictions on inter-state movement of stranded people especially the migrant workers, Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has asked the officials to make each village secretariat suitable to accommodate 10-15 people as a quarantine.

Reddy inaugurated these village offices on October 2. Over 11,000 such villages and about 4000 ward secretariats are available in AP, where village secretaries and volunteers would assist the officials in the virus mitigation.

However, the CM has also appealed to people not to rush to return to the state “as the relaxation is only for migrant labour as per the Centre’s guidelines.”

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During the COVID-19 review meeting on Sunday, Reddy asked people to stay at their respective places and not to take up journeys as the virus spread might increase.

Andhra Pradesh continues to report a large number of positive cases. With 58 new cases on Sunday, its total tally is now at 1583.

“The CM asked people not to come to the state borders and risk their own families. Currently the state is receiving migrant workers in large numbers and providing quarantine for them has become a challenge,” CMO officials said.

While discussing the measures taken for the safe return of AP’s people stranded in other states, the Chief Minister directed that Anganwadis, Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA), and Panchayat Raj etc., departments should collaboratively implement the COVID-19 preventive measures across the state.

Reddy asked officials to modify at least 500 APSRTC buses for delivery of daily essential goods and also equip those buses with freezers to store perishable items like milk, curd, eggs, and fruits. The CM instructed the officials to issue a pass for only one person from a household to buy essential goods, in the containment zones.