Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday called his counterparts in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan and Karnataka for the “safekeeping” of people from Assam stranded in their respective states because of the Covid-19-induced nationwide lockdown.
The six chief ministers he dialled during the day, which also saw him make a trip to Udalguri district for a review of the situation, included Uddhav Thackeray (Maharashtra), Vijay Rupani (Gujarat), Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy (Andhra Pradesh), Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala), Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan) and B.S. Yediyurappa (Karnataka).
The calls were made over and above the letters sent to different state governments requesting them to help the stranded people of Assam, the chief minister’s office said.
These six states, apart from Delhi and Bengal, have a sizeable number of people from Assam and other states of the Northeast, either pursuing their studies or earning their livelihood. There are over eight lakh people working outside Assam as per the 2011 census. This figure must have crossed 10 lakh, excluding students, according to the Students Federation of India’s Assam unit.
Sonowal said, “I will be grateful to you if you please direct your respective district administrations for the safekeeping of the people of Assam who, for the sake of their professional, academic, medical and other requirements, got stranded in your respective states during the lockdown.”
He also informed them about steps being taken to help people from other states stranded in Assam and check the spread of the coronavirus. Altogether 34 persons have tested positive for the virus till date.
On Friday, Sonowal had called Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma to ensure smooth passage for vehicles carrying essentials to Barak Valley through the neighbouring state and back.
Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday reiterated that the state government has been chalking out plans to face one of its biggest challenges — the return of those who were stranded outside the state after the lockdown would be over or relaxed.
“Our helpline has received some 9.2 lakh calls so far from people who are stranded outside. If added to their family members, we can assume that there will be around 15 lakh people at least outside the state. Of this, the highest numbers of people were found stranded in Karnataka where some 66,000 from the state are believed to be stranded now. Then in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat, Goa, West Bengal, Haryana and Delhi too, a large number of people were found to be stranded,” he stated. The state government has been also planning to provide financial aid to these people soon.