90 people from Gujarat stranded in Chhattisgarh due to lockdown

As the nation is under complete lockdown, as many as 90 persons from Gujarat have been stranded in Chhattisgarh's Raipur district. They had reportedly gone there to attend a religious function.

Ahmedabad: As many as 90 persons from Ahmedabad’s Nikol area, who had gone to attend a religious function at Champaran village in Chhattisgarh's Raipur district, are stranded there following the declaration of 21-day lockdown in the wake of the coronavirus scare.

They had confirmed return tickets for the train journey on March 23 but all the trains were cancelled by then, leaving them stranded since last six days.

Champaran is a known religious place and these pilgrims were staying in a Dharamshala (hospice). The trust of the Dharamshala has made arrangements for their food. However, they have now run out of cash. They appealed for government intervention through social media and emails and the Chhattisgarh government has finally shown willingness to help them.

However, there has been no response from the Gujarat administration.

The families of these 90 people are also in quarantine. There is no way these people can return home even if there is urgency like death or illness in the family.

The tourists approached ETV Bharat to extend help following which the organisation used the helpline and also published report to draw the government’s attention to their plight.

The moot question is that if the Gujarat government can make arrangement to transport people from other states to return to their native places, why similar arrangement cannot be made for people from Gujarat stranded in other states to return to their home state Gujarat.