JOIN USChhattisgarh tally soars with return of migrants
Chhattisgarh’s virus tally rose to 57 with the detection of 17 fresh cases on Sunday, all of them migrant workers who have returned to the state.
About 200 people have been quarantined after they came in contact with infected labourers who came back from five states. Earlier, 14 workers had tested positive in Durg and Kavardha districts. Three more migrants tested positive in Surajpur, taking the total to 17 on Sunday.
Durg superintendent of police Ajay Yadav said the eight labourers in the district had returned from Nagpur, Mumbai, Gondia, Ahmedabad and from cities in West Bengal and Odisha.
The state health department has asked collectors of all 28 districts to conduct tests on every migrant entering their jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, the government has stepped up efforts to bring back around 6,000 workers stranded in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday said the government will bear the expenses for the repatriation of workers.
State transport commissioner Kamal Preet Singh has written to the Indian Railways, demanding special trains for workers from the state.
Government sources said 6,074 migrant labourers in other states have contacted for their safe return to Chhattisgarh. Of these, 5,130 are from Rajasthan, 500 from Gujarat and 445 from Madhya Pradesh.