Adityanath asks officials to bring home UP workers stuck in states

Various department heads have been given a week's time to submit their 'concrete roadmaps' to the government for implementation

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath on Friday asked his officials to bring home in 14 days workers stuck in parts of the country because of the lockdown to contain the coronavirus. 

Adityanath’s government six days ago sent buses to Kota in Rajasthan to bring back students stuck in the entrance exam coaching hub, but it was criticised for not helping migrant workers who aren’t able to return to their homes in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and are stuck in relief camps by the wayside in other states. 

“He has directed officials to talk to these state governments for preparing the list of these workers and facilitating their arrival in UP and making arrangements for the requisite quarantine of 14 days,” said UP additional chief secretary Awanish Kumar Awasthi in Lucknow.

Adityanath asked government departments to prepare plans for creating jobs for 1.5 million people in the next 6 months, reacting after countless construction workers and daily wage earners lost their livelihoods in the coronavirus pandemic.

The department heads were given a week’s time to submit their "concrete roadmaps" to the government for implementation.

Adityanath told a meeting it was imperative to lay a strong foundation for the state’s economic development and job creation post-lockdown, and the work should start now. So far, the state has disbursed cash handout of Rs 1,000 each to more than 2.5 million of daily workers.

Adityanath asked officials the work on creating jobs and self employment opportunities be accelerated in the departments of horticulture, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), food processing and Khadi Gramodyog apart from one district one product (OPOP) scheme, national rural livelihood mission (NRLM) and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA).

UP has reported total 1,604 coronavirus cases across 57 districts, of which 206 have been discharged, while 24 persons succumbed, thus leaving 1,374 active cases. Now, 29 districts are free of coronavirus, after either all the active cases were discharged or they have yet not reported any case.

The state has dispatched a team of three senior administrative, police and medical officers for 18 districts, which have reported 20+ active coronavirus cases. These officers will stay put in their respective districts for a week, enforce the lockdown strictly and ensure that the medical norms were being followed property.