Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday directed the transport department to work in close coordination with the state health department and police while bringing back stranded people from other states.

Sonowal visited the control room set up by the transport department, which is taking calls from people from Assam stranded in other states to help the department chart out ways to bring them back.

The department had earlier said it would arrange buses to bring back people from the neighbouring states while those in other parts of the country would have to board trains. The department, however, has not announced when the buses would be pressed into service. The government has allowed people having personal vehicles to return home.

Sonowal also held a meeting with transport department officials, which was also attended by transport minister Chandra Mohan Patowary. “The meeting also discussed how to transport people stranded in the state’s districts,” a source said.

The chief minister told the media that the government was taking all possible measures so that people do not face any problem during the lockdown. He said five lakh metric tonnes of rice were imported to the state during the period.

He sought people’s cooperation to make the third phase of the lockdown successful. He appealed to the people to follow the guidelines issued by the health department. He said the government was also working so that students do not lose an academic year.

Sonowal also interacted with bus passengers at the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) bus terminal at Betkuchi here.

Patowary said from April 25 till May 2, the transport department had transported 32,444 people in 2,090 buses. Altogether 45 dhabas along the national highways and 85 truck-repairing shops were allowed to reopen for smooth transportation of people. The ASTC is plying 200 buses in the city and 248 in other parts of the state, he added.

Meanwhile, 44 students from Assam studying in Mewar University, Chittorgarh (Rajasthan) are being brought back in two buses.

The Jorhat administration from Tuesday introduced the odd and even number rule for vehicles to ply on alternate days to prevent traffic chaos.

Jorhat district magistrate Roshni Aparanji Korati, in an order passed on Monday, stated that all types of vehicles, both commercial and private, including two-wheelers, having registration numbers ending with odd digits (1, 3, 5, 7, 9) only would be allowed to ply on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Vehicles with registration numbers ending with even digits (0, 2, 4, 6, 8) will be allowed to ply on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The restrictions will not be applicable to medical services, police, fire services, emergency response for restoring telecom and electricity and law-enforcing agencies or on Sundays.

Earlier, Guwahati police had implemented the odd-even rule for all vehicles engaged in essential services to regulate traffic movement in the city during the lockdown.

Additional reporting by Devajit Baruah in Jorhat