- Friday, April 18, 2025
By: indiaweekly.biz Staff
Over 21,000 Covid-19 relief camps have been made operational in India where more than 660,000 stranded and destitute people are sheltered as of now.
Punya Salila Srivastava, a joint secretary in the ministry, told reporters during a daily briefing on Tuesday (31) that over 2.3 million people are also being provided food at these camps.
She said the ministry was continuously monitoring the ongoing lockdown situation in coordination with the states and union territories and the situation till now has been satisfactory.
The essential supplies system was also running satisfactorily, she said, adding interstate cargo movement is also going on smoothly. “We hope that the lockdown will be effective,” Srivastava added.
The Centre on Tuesday (31) told the Supreme Court that it was ensuring no migrant worker was on the road, amid fears that the large-scale movement of migrants from cities to their native places on foot after the coronavirus lockdown may trigger the spread of Covid-19 in country’s hinterland.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that “there is a possibility of three out of 10 moving from cities to rural areas carrying the virus”.
Mehta’s submission came a day after the bench had sought a status report from the government on the steps taken to prevent the exodus of labourers from cities to their native places on foot after the imposition of a 21-day nationwide lockdown.
“Anyone who was outside has been taken to the available shelters,” Mehta said, adding, “we are considering providing counseling to address the panic”.
“It would be risky for them and for the village populations. So far, rural India is unaffected by coronavirus, but there is a possibility of three out of 10 moving from cities to rural areas carrying the virus.”
Mehta said migrant workers, who were on roads during journey to their native places, have been kept in shelter homes where they are provided with drinking water, food, mattresses and medical aid.
The court, after hearing the submissions, directed the Centre to get trained counsellors and community leaders of all faiths to calm down the migrants at shelter homes across the country.
It also asked the government to ensure that adequate facilities and essential supplies were made available in these shelter homes.
