[:en]Gandhinagar, Wednesday: Chief Minister Mr. Vijay Rupani held the Cabinet Meeting through video conference in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Mr.Nitin Patel.
Providing details of the meeting, Secretary to CM, Mr.Ashwani Kumar said, “ The state government has made necessary arrangements for sending migrant workers back home by providing sufficient trains and private buses. At the same time, the Chief Minister has appealed the migrant workers to show co-operation with the administration as the process for approval demands time. Gujarat leads India in running maximum labor trains. The state has operated 39 trains in the last 4 days and sent more than 46,000 migrant laborers to their respective homes.”
30 more trains will leave from Gujarat today to send 82,000 migrant workers back home. Around 3.25 lakh laborers have been sent to their respective natives through trains and buses till date. The CM has advised the migrant workers to stay patient and not assemble in groups due to anxiety or other factors. The state government is on its toes to ensure that they reach home safely. The state government shall continue the necessary arrangements for the coming 15 days.
The district administration in Surat has made special provisions by contacting community leaders in U.P, Orissa and Jharkhand to ensure necessary arrangements are in place. The workers will be provided the details of the community leaders through phone and text message via the administration.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of India has arranged flights to bring back stranded Indians. All those Gujaratis stranded outside India will be required to provide the necessary details to the Indian Mission in the respective countries. However, the cost of tickets will have to borne by the people.
Around 1500 Gujaratis will be brought home in Phase-1 from 7th May, 2020.This includes 250 from Philippines, 600 from the USA, 250 from Singapore, 250 from the U.K and 200 from Kuwait. The passengers will under health check after landing in the state. Mrs.Mamata Verma, Principal Secretary of Tourism will oversee the entire management for the said task.
The migrant workers from Surat will be allowed to go back to their respective native places within the state through personal vehicles or buses. The state government will also run S.T buses for them.
Free food grain distribution for APL-1 card holders with last digit of their ration card as 1 or 2 shall begin from tomorrow. The CM has appealed the well-to-do families to give up their privileges in order to ensure that the government is able to reach to those in dire need.[:]
