Over 13.5 lakh migrant workers reach UP till date: Officials

Over 13.5 lakh migrant workers have reached Uttar Pradesh from other states by trains, buses and by their own vehicles till Friday, said officials.

Between March 1 and April 30, 6.5 lakh labourers came from Delhi. Till now 380 trains have brought over 4.70 lakh of them besides over 70,000 have come by buses from other states, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi told reporters here.

About 1.5 lakh have come by their own vehicles. A total of over 13.5 lakh migrants have come so far in the state," he added.

He said about one lakh migrants are expected to reach the state on Friday on 70 trains and this will continue as the government was doing whatever possible to bring back its people stranded in elsewhere in the country.

"Four trains from Delhi will reach Varanasi and Gorakhpur on Friday. Trains will also run from Noida and Ghaziabad to Bihar and Purvanchal," he said, adding maximum number of 201 trains have come Gujarat till now.

He said UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has deployed 11,964 buses including its own and those on contract to take migrants home from railway stations and from one district to others.

Directives have also been given to provide mask, gloves and sanitisers in buses, he said, adding the database of all those coming will be utilised for providing them work and other benefits.

He said the CM has also directed police to increase patrolling.

Principal Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad, meanwhile, said that health workers have surveyed 2.62 lakh migrant workers of which 305 had cough, cold, fever and other symptoms of coronavirus infection.

"Samples of such cases have been sent for testing and the report is awaited," he said.