Centre, Railways approached to bring back stranded people
Mizoram Govt decides to bring back stranded Mizos in different NE States
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, April 28 2020:
The State Government has approached the Union Government as well as the Indian Railways for bringing back Manipuri people stranded in different parts of the country on account of the country-wide lockdown compelled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Significantly the Government of Mizoram has also decided to bring back Mizo people who are stranded in different States of the North East region from April 30 to May 4 .
Speaking to some media persons today, Chief Secretary Dr J Suresh Babu said that he talked about bringing back State natives stranded in different States during a video conference with the Union Cabinet Secretary.
Opining that it would be difficult to bring back the stranded States natives without railway service, Dr J Suresh Babu said that the State Government is awaiting the Centre's consent to its appeal to bring back the stranded people by train.
Notably, the State Government has already initiated necessary measures to test all the stranded Manipuri natives as and when they arrive in the State and also to put them at quarantine centres.
At the moment there are 11 quarantine centres including Mao and Jiribam.
At the moment there are 99 people housed in the 11 quarantine centres spread across the State.
It is being speculated that 30,000 to 50,000 Manipuri natives are currently stranded in different parts of the country.
About 90 people including students are also currently stranded at Manipur Bhawan in Guwahati.
Meanwhile, 11 samples were tested for COVID-19 in JNIMS today and all of them were found to be negative.
So far, 439 samples have been tested for COVID-19 in the State.
Like Manipur, the Mizoram Government has announced that stranded people from Mizoram in the North Eastern States of India will be brought back between April 30 and May 2, reports NNN.
However, if need be, the time frame will be extended.
This information was given by Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Tuesday through a video message.
It is reported that 693 people from Mizoram are stranded in four North Eastern States due to COVID-19 lockdown.
According to Zoramthanga, 154 people from Mizoram are stranded in Assam, 318 in Manipur, 201 in Meghalaya and 20 in Tripura.
Zoramthanga stated that after these 693 people are brought into the State, they will undergo 14 days mandatory quarantine in Government designated quarantine centres after they are 'medically screened' .
After the lapse of the period, they will again undergo home quarantine for a certain period.
However, the duration for home quarantine is not mentioned by the Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister said that the State Government had approached the Union Home Ministry earlier on the issue to which the latter advised the Mizoram Government to consult with the respective State Governments wherever the people of Mizoram are stranded.
"As per the Union Home Ministry's advice, we contacted all respective State Governments, which consented to the proposal for bringing back the stranded people to our State," Zoramthanga added.
The Mizoram Chief Minister said that needed vehicles for the stranded people will be provided by the State Government.
"Otherwise they will come by their own vehicles", said Zoramthanga.
With regard to the status of the lockdown, the Mizoram Chief Minister said that his Government will go by what the Centre decides on whether to extend or not on the lockdown.
Zoramthanga then expressed concern that Mizoram is located at a vulnerable place when it comes to the spread of COVID-19 .
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