From arranging bus services toensuring medical screening, the Chhattisgarh government is providing various facilities to migrant labourers in transit to their home states amidst the coronavirus-induced lockdown, an official said on Sunday.Thousands of migrants from states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana etc are crossing Chhattisgarh every day to reach Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand, he said.Chhattisgarh, a landlocked state, shares its borders with seven states- Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.The migrants are either hitchhiking rides in goods vehicles or are walking on foot to reach their destinations."Upon arrival of migrants on the border of the state, we are providing them food and drinking water and conducting their health check up before ferrying them to borders close to their home states," the official said.Various self-help organisations, social service institutions, industry and trade bodies are also cooperating with the state government to help the migrants on the appeal of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, he said.At least 100 buses have been arranged to ferry migrant workers reaching Baghnadi border in Rajnandgaon district."As most of them belong to states like Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal, they are being transported up to the northern border of Chhattisgarh from where authorities of their concerned states are informed about them," he said, adding that footwear and face masks were distributed among migrants.In Raipur, a large number of migrants gather in Tatibandh area on its outskirts every day where buses have been arranged to transport them to borders without charging any fare.
