Over 10,000 people from Assam stranded outside are expected to reach the state by trains within the next two weeks, forcing the government to accelerate revamp of Covid screening and healthcare infrastructure.

Assam is witnessing a constant rise in Covid cases, with two more persons testing positive on Monday. This has taken the state’s Covid count to 64 and active cases to 22. Both the cases were reported from Guwahati though one of them originally hails from Jagiroad in Morigaon district. Five patients were discharged during the day while one person, who had tested positive here, left for Bihar.

Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, “We have booked trains to bring back migrant workers to Assam. But after their arrival, providing them proper medical check-up, accommodation and quarantine facilities for those with symptoms is going to be a mammoth task.”

A special Delhi-Dibrugarh train to bring back stranded people will start from the national capital on Tuesday. The state government has also booked at least five trains to bring home migrant labourers from other, mostly southern, states. Special trains will leave Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Bangalore (Karnataka), Hyderabad (Telangana) and Kochi (Kerala) on May 12, 15, 18, 21 and 24 respectively, Sonowal said.

“To accommodate all these people safely and to keep our society healthy, I seek support from all corners, including local MLAs and MPs, to arrange the facilities. People also need to extend their support to the cause,” he added.

The Centre has introduced special trains so that migrant workers can return to their native places and each one of these trains is likely to ferry around 1,000-1,200 passengers.

Keeping in view that a large number of people will come in from all corners of the country, the state health department is planning to set up a zonal screening point at Dibrugarh railway station.

The state government has already set up screening centres at Kokrajhar, Guwahati, Tezpur, Jorhat and Silchar to thoroughly inspect the health of all incoming people and to advise subsequent action.

“Around 10,000 people will enter Assam before May 25. The state has decided to set up a zonal screening centre at Dibrugarh for the train passengers,” health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Sarma also inaugurated a 50-bed intensive care unit at Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH) on Monday. Earlier, JMCH had 14 ICU beds for Covid-19 patients. It had no ICU facilities for other patients. “Amid this Covid situation, it’s a very important step which will also address the long-pending demands of the local people,” he said.

Last week, the Centre, presenting a detailed account of the Covid-fighting infrastructure, had asked the state to pull up its socks in creating adequate medical infrastructure.

Additional reporting by Devajit Baruah in Jorhat