8,830 people have returned to state, 4.9 lakh more expected to arrive: Odisha govt

The Odisha government on Monday said 8,830 Odia people have so far returned from other states while around 4.90 lakh more are expected to arrive within a month.

This was stated by the state government's COVID-19 spokesperson, Subroto Bagchi, here during a daily briefing.

While 6,381 people have returned to the state in buses, 2,409 people arrived in trains and the remaining 39 used other means, he said.

"We are expecting the return of 4.90 lakh more people as they have already registered their names in the government portal and are keen to return due to the nationwide lockdown," Bagchi said, adding it was noticed that the behaviour of some of the returnees was irking the local people.

Citing an instance, he said while coming to Ganjam in a bus, some people stopped near Boudh and behaved irrationally, prompting the locals to lodge a complaint with the police.

Bagchi also cited quarantine norm violations by some of those who have already reached the state.

"Do not lose sympathy of 4.45 crore people of Odisha who have accepted the returnees as their own people," he said.

"The rest of the Odisha may lose sympathy on all the returnees due to carelessness and indiscipline by a handful of people out of the 8,830 returnees," the official said, adding that reports have been received on some returnees escaping from quarantine centres.

"By escaping from the quarantine centres, you are not only putting yourself and your family in danger, but also the community," he said, adding that the people had agreed to abide by the quarantine norms before returning.

"Now, after arrival in the state, some people are violating the norms and therefore may face stringent action from the government," Bagchi cautioned, adding that all people, including returnees, need to make certain sacrifices in order to win the fight against COVID-19.

He said thousands of people, including government officials, volunteers, panchayat functionaries and others, were working day in and day out for 45 days to protect the state from the pandemic. Therefore, migrant workers who return to the state should also get ready to sacrifice to a certain extent and cooperate with the administration, he added.

He said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has advised the Odia people returning from other states to undergo quarantine and strictly follow all protocols and advisories issued by the government.

"In case of any violation, the sarpanch shall bring the same to the notice of the administration. Stringent action will be taken against the violators," Patnaik has said.

Meanwhile, Union Petroleum and Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has also appealed to the people returning to the state to cooperate with the administration in its fight against the pandemic.