The state government relaxed some lockdown norms and permitted stranded students, migrants, tourists, pilgrims and other citizens for inter-district and inter-state travel. The permissions will, however, come into effect from Saturday. Those traveling back home from Maharashtra will, however, have to go through a health check-up, follow the sanitization guidelines, and undergo a 14-day quarantine if required. Meanwhile, there are also around a few thousand workers from Maharashtra who are stranded in Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, while more than 500 students from the state are stranded in Delhi. Meanwhile, the state has already sent 72 state transport buses to bring around 1,800 students stuck in Kota in Rajasthan
Home minister Anil Deshmukh said, “Stranded migrants, students, pilgrims, and other people will be allowed to travel inter-district by seeking written permission in due format”.
The notification has given powers to district collectors and the director of the disaster management unit to grant permissions to all those stranded in the state to travel outside the respective districts, where they are currently stranded by following the guidelines, related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Several migrants have been left in the lurch since March in cities such as Mumbai, Thane, and Pune, after the nation-wide lockdown came into effect.
Kishoreraje Nimbalkar, secretary, relief and rehabilitation said that permissions would be granted by collectors if any individual or family approaches or writes to him/her, only if he/she finds the reasons stated satisfactorily.
The notification will also pave way for the traveling of more than 5.7 lakh migrant workers who have been staying in the shelters camps across the state. “We will give them the permissions, but the responsibility of arranging the transportation will not be taken,” said an official from the state government.
