Pondy govt to bear 15% of ticket fare for return of guest workers to their native places: CM

Puducherry Chief Minister V

Narayanasamy on Tuesday said the territorial government would bear 15 per cent of the railway fare for guest workers stranded in Puducherry to help them return to their native places.

He told reporters here that900 workers who had come from West Bengal, 1,100 fromBihar and 50 from Odisha had expressed their intention to return to their respective States.

Also, students and merchants from other States were stranded in the Union Territory.

The government had drawn up a plan to help these stranded people return to their native places, he said adding as far as workers were concerned the government would bear 15 per cent of the railwayfare.

 

The Chief Minister said he had requested the Union Railway Ministry to run special trains from Puducherry to these States facilitating the return of guest workers, students and traders.

He said irrespective of whether there is an extension of COVID-19 lockdown or not, the people had to take steps to ensure that the contagion doesn't spread.

"Whether there is extension or not of lockdown, it is ultimately in the hands of the people to ensure that spread of coronavirus is kept at bay," he added.

The chief minister said coronavirus is "playing a hide and seek" game, adding though the number of cases was very less now the in Union Territory the people should not be complacent and should not take things for granted.

"The territorial government is implementing all the guidelines of the Centre in letter and spirit. The people should extend their cooperation by adhering to the lockdown norms by sticking to social distancing, wearing of masks and staying at home," he added.

The government-run Indira Gandhi Medical College hospital was fully equipped with beds, medicines and other infrastructure to handle any rise of COVID-19 cases, he said.

Narayanasamy reiterated his plea to the Centre to come to the rescue of the territorial government by releasing funds as the flow of revenue had been hit during the lockdown.

"Tourism sector in the union territory has been hit due to the lockdown as nearly 1.25 lakh people engaged in tourism industry here were left in the cold with the sector facing a crisis," the Chief Minister said and added that the Centre should come out with a bailout plan to stabilise the economic activity of Puducherry.

Earlier, the Chief Minister and Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao visited the government general hospital to wish nurses on the occasion of International Nurses Day.