Patnaik seeks Palaniswami's cooperation for safe return of Odias from TN

Amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik sought cooperation from his Tamil Nadu counterpart Edappadi K Palaniswami for the safe return of Odia people stranded in the southern state.

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday sought cooperation from his Tamil Nadu counterpart Edappadi K Palaniswami for the safe return of Odia people stranded in the southern state due to coronavirus-triggered nationwide lockdown.

Patnaik made the request to the Tamil Nadu chief minister through video conferencing which was also attended by Union Petroleum and Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Pradhan agreed to coordinate between the two states for trouble-free movement of the stranded people to Odisha.

The Tamil Nadu CM informed that there are 1,30,000 workers from Odisha working in the state, mostly in Tirupur district.

Patnaik thanked Palaniswami for personally visiting some of the camps where Odia people are grounded. He deputed CMs advisor R Balakrishnan to coordinate with Tamil Nadu on behalf of Odisha.

Patnaik also spoke to some of the Odia people held up and presently staying at Guru Nanak College in Chennai.

A large number of natives of Odisha including migrant workers, fishermen, students and professional are stuck in different parts of Tamil Nadu and unable to return home due to lockdown.

Both the governments agreed to cooperate with each other for facilitating the smooth movement of people.

Earlier, Patnaik had spoken to the chief ministers of Gujarat and Maharastra where Odia people are also stranded due to the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

A batch of migrant workers have already returned home from Gujarat and a group of students are on their way back to the state from Kota in Rajasthan.

The people who are stuck in other parts of the country have to register their names with Aadhar number and mobile phone number in a portal launched by the Odisha government.

On their arrival in the state, the returnees will have to undergo mandatory quarantine in Odisha.

The state government has opened temporary medical camps and quarantine centres in all the 6798 gram panchayats and over 100 urban local bodies to keep the returnees in quarantine before allowing them to go to their houses.

Meanwhile, State Government's COVID-19 spokesperson Subroto Bagchi said that Odisha has been taking steps to ensure the return of Odias stranded in different places as per the guidelines issued by the Centre.

(PTI Report)