Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath once again on Wednesday to allow her party to ply buses to ferry migrants to their homes amid the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, without playing politics over the issue.
In a 10-minute video message released on Congress social media handles, she said this is not the time to play politics but to help people, especially migrant labourers, suffering due to the lockdown.
IMAGE: Buses arranged by Congress party for migrants parked along a road as they were not permitted by the authorities to cross Agra-Bharatpur border, in Agra, on Wednesday. Photograph: PTI Photo
She told Adityanath that the 1,000-odd buses made available by the party would remain where they are till 4 pm Wednesday and that he should use them and allow permission to ply them to help ferry migrants to their homes safely.
“I want to urge the chief minister that our buses will remain parked where they are at the borders (with Rajasthan) till 4 pm and it will be 24 hours since they were made available there.
“If you want to use them, kindly allow permission to us to ply them. If you want, you can paste your posters or banners on them, but kindly allow them to ply so that the migrants can be ferried in them and they reach home safely,” she said.
She noted that till the time the issue got embroiled in politics, at least 92,000 migrants who are walking on the roads in this heat, without water and food, could have reached home safely by now.
“This is not the time to play politics. I urge every political party to set aside their political ideology and help people instead,” she said.
In her message to migrant labourers, she said Congress workers and leaders are standing by their side in this time of crisis and will help them in every possible manner as per their capacity and provide them food too.
Thousands of migrants are walking to their homes amid the lockdown and the Congress party in UP and the UP government are locked in a tussle over plying of buses provided by the Congress for ferrying migrants home.
Have made arrangements for safe return of migrants to state: Adityanath
Meanwhile, Adityanath on Wednesday said the Centre and UP government have made arrangements for bringing migrant labourers and workers to the state safely by trains and buses and that they should not walk or use unsafe modes of transport to return to their homes.
The chief minister also directed the officials to provide drinking water and food to all migrants at toll plazas, expressways and main crossings as well as on the borders of the state, according to officials.
While attending a high-level review meeting with senior officials here, Adityanath stressed on creating awareness among the migrants for using safe transport.
IMAGE: Migrants wait at Delhi-UP border after being stopped by police from walking towards Uttar Pradesh, in New Delhi, on Wednesday. Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo
He said so far 838 Shramik Express trains have brought more than 14 lakh migrant labourers and workers and that in the next two days 206 more trains will arrive.
With this, the total number of trains arranged by the state would be 1,044.
The chief minister asked respective commissioners to undertake regular monitoring of the Shramik Special trains arriving in their divisions and also the arrangements for sending the migrants to their home districts by buses.
He said 12,000 buses of Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation have been deployed for taking the migrants to their home districts.
Besides, the state government has provided 200 buses each to every district magistrate in all the 75 districts.
“The Centre and Uttar Pradesh government have made arrangements for a safe and respectable return of the migrant labourers and workers free of cost by trains and buses.
“Keeping their own and their families’ interest in mind they should not walk or take illegal and unsafe modes of transport for returning,” the chief minister said.
He also directed the officials concerned to ensure that the migrant labourers are provided with water and food as soon as they enter the state, before their screening, and taking them safety to their destinations, the officials said.
The chief minister also asked officials to ensure that no one should remain hungry and community kitchens should provide food to all the needy persons. He also asked them to provide food grains to all the eligible families in the state.
Saying that a large number of migrant labourers and workers were expected to arrive in the state, Adityanath said the capacity of quarantine centres should be increased to 15 lakh people besides making arrangements for providing food to all of them through community kitchens.
He also directed that the number of beds in COVID-19 hospitals be increased to 75,000.
The chief minister stressed on effective patrolling to check strict compliance of social distancing and preventing crowding and directed that foot patrolling should be undertaken in the market areas and heavy patrolling in the rural areas.