Day After Centre's Nod, Uddhav Govt Issues Guidelines to Help Migrant Workers; Specifies Rules on Screening, Transit Passes for Buses

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Thursday released guidelines to send back migrants labourers and bring back stranded students. As a part of the plan, the Uddhav Thackeray-led government appointed nodal officers in each district to coordinate with the administration of various state and facilitate inter-state transfer of people.

"All those who are to be sent, will be screened. Only those persons who don't show any flu-like symptoms will be sent back with the government letter that they are asymptomatic," the guidelines state. Symptomatic persons will be kept in the state.

The rules further said that an approval from the receiving state is also mandatory in a "specified format". The buses transporting these people will be issued transit passes.

All those coming in Maharashtra will have to be screened in the state from where they will be sent. These asymptomatic persons will have to be screened and home quarantined on their return. Unless need for institutional quarantine, the guidelines read.

The government's norms have come a day after the Ministry of Home Affairs said that stranded migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students will be allowed to move with conditions during lockdown.