This story is from March 17, 2021

MP travel curbs may hit tourism, healthcare

MP travel curbs may hit tourism, healthcare
Nagpur: A resident of Maharashtra going anywhere in Madhya Pradesh (MP) may now have to stay under home quarantine for a week. There are may be arrangement at a government facility or a hotel in some places or one may be simply turned back.
On Monday, the MP government issued directions calling for a seven-day quarantine for those travelling from Maharashtra.
This includes residents of MP itself and even persons from other states. Officials also clarified that there will always be scope for a case-to-case relaxation. Movement is being allowed for working in establishments on either side or any other dire emergency.
MP had imposed curbs last month itself. However, among neihbouring districts, only Chhindwara had strictly imposed the no certificate no entry rule. After the fresh order by the state’s home department, all the districts of MP will have the same norm.
This means either a resident of Maharashtra passes with a Covid certificate or stays under quarantine wherever possible, said bureaucrats in MP contacted by TOI. The practical difficulties will be dealt with, as and when encountered, said officials.
The move is expected to affect traffic between the two states. Pockets in Madhya Pradesh like the Pench tiger reserve or Pachmarhi hill station are favourite tourist deviations for those in Vidarbha.
The Vidarbha region borders six districts of Madhya Pradesh—Chhindwara, Seoni, Balaghat, Betul, Khandwa, Burhanpur. A large number of people travel to Nagpur from cities like Jabalpur, Satna Narisnghpur too for medical treatment. The move is expected to hit tourism in Madhya Pradesh, say resort owners. Doctors in Nagpur say healthcare in towns of the neighouring state can be affected too due to the curbs.

A letter has been sent to all the resort owners in Pench by the police. It says they will have to submit a report about the tourists each day by 6pm and guests should be only allowed with a Covid negative report through RTPCR test.
“The sudden announcement of restrictions from both sides of the border has drastically affected our business for this week and the weeks ahead. On an average, 50% bookings are being cancelled. This leaves us in a tough spot because overheads are fixed and they amount to almost 70% of our operational costs. Since 90% of the tourism is from Nagpur, one can understand the scale of business getting hit,” said Sandeep Singh, a member of Pench Jungle Lodges’ Association.
Dr Anup Marar, convener of Vidarbha Hospitals’ Association (VHA), said the curb can affect patient flow from MP. Many also come for getting Covid treated.
District collector of Chhindwara Saurav Kumar Suman told TOI that entry to workplaces will be subject to employers’ responsibility. At the Raymond’s unit across the border, the employer will have to ensure that the workers don’t go out of the plant. In Burhanpur, passes will be issued for workers crossing the border.
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