Bihar: Quarantine centres in dists still await returnee workers

PATNA: The district authorities have swung into action to set up quarantine centres at sub-divisional headquarters to accommodate migrant workers returning home in the wake of an unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases.
“We have already set up quarantine centres at all the four sub-divisional headquarters at Gaya sadar, Tekari, Nimchak Bathani and Sherghati in the district,” Gaya DM Abhishek Singh said on Sunday.
Singh clarified that no migrant worker has turned up at any of the four quarantine centres so far. “But we hope the workers will stay there once the number of returnees increased in the days to come,” he said over the phone.
Gaya district shares its border with Jharkhand. On an average, 200-250 migrant workers alighted from different trains at Gaya Junction every day. “Most of the workers who tested positive prefer to remain in home isolation,” Singh revealed.
Unlike previous year, no complaints related to returning migrant workers not being allowed to enter their home either by their family members or restricted by the residents have been received from any part of the state till date.
The authorities are of the view that the migrant workers will start living in these centres after the number of returnees crossed 1,000 or 1500 per day in each district in the state. “The influx is not high as compared to last year,” a district magistrate said.
The authorities in Rohtas and Kaimur districts, which share their borders with Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh respectively, swung into action soon after the instructions were issued from the disaster management department for setting up the quarantine centres.
Kaimur deputy development commissioner (DDC) Kumar Gaurav said those tested positive were asked to stay at the quarantine centres at Mohania and Bhabua in the district.
Rohtas DM Dharmendra Kumar said three quarantine centres each with a capacity to accommodate 500 migrant workers have been set up at Dehri-on-Sone, Sasaram and Bikramganj sub-divisional headquarters in the district.
The DM said eight to nine people have reported to the centres in the district till date. “But the number will increase with more migrant workers’ return to their native villages from their work place in other states,” he added.
Earlier, labour resources department minister Jibesh Kumar said the influx of returnees will be more after the CM’s appeal to come home at the earliest. An estimated 25 lakh migrant workers are likely to return home.