UP govt provides aid for stranded labourers

The Uttar Pradesh government has arranged bus services from Anand Vihar in Delhi for people who have been stranded in the national capital due to the lockdown imposed in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

"If there is any resident or migrant laborer of Uttar Pradesh is trapped in Delhi, then the arrangements for his or her return to home have been made by the Government of Uttar Pradesh," said a notification.

The migrants can contact the following numbers to avail bus services -- 011-26110151 and 011-26110155.

The buses will ply from the Anand Vihar bus stand.

Earlier today, the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) requested all District Magistrates (DMs), Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) and other officials not to obstruct the movement of 200 special buses being run to provide transport facilities to people stuck at various places in the border areas with Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a 21-day lockdown in the entire country effective from midnight to deal with the spread of coronavirus, saying that "social distancing" is the only option to combat the disease.

The total number of active COVID-19 cases in the country has climbed to 873, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Saturday.