Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa promises shelter for stranded workers

BENGALURU: Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Sunday said the government would arrange shelter for those stranded at the state borders and provide facilities to conduct medical examination on them.
About 1,000 migrant Kannadiga labourers are stranded along the Goa and Maharashtra borders with Karnataka. During an all-party meeting on Covid-19 pandemic chaired by the CM, the opposition parties attacked the government for its failure to provide transportation to migrant labourers from Karnataka working in other states.
Citing the home ministry's directive that the stranded migrants should stay put, Yediyurappa said the government, instead of making arrangements to bring them back, would ensure required amenities for them till the coronavirus crisis defuses. "These are difficult times," the CM said.
A lucky few managed to reach home hours before the Centre issued the order. The Karnataka government arranged 70 buses to ferry 3,000 migrant labourers to their hometowns in Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
In Nangali of Kolar district, Andhra Pradesh sent 50 buses to pick up 1,400 stranded fishermen. The move came after it got the fishermen, who worked in Mangaluru and Udupi, medically examined and found them fit.