U'khand issues SOP for bringing back stranded people

The Uttarakhand government on Saturday issued a Standard Operating Procedure to bring back people of the state stranded at different places due to the countrywide lockdown but made it clear that only those who do not show symptoms of COVID-19 will be brought home.

Registered people whose online applications have been approved will be screened at the start of their homeward journey and only those who show no symptoms of COVID-19 will be allowed to travel, the SOP issued by Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority said.

They will be screened once again after their arrival at their respective destinations and will be permitted to proceed to their homes if they are asymptomatic. However, they will have to be quarantined at home for at least for 14 days, the SOP said.

On arrival at their destination, such people shall be screened by the health authorities and kept in home quarantine for a minimum period of 14 days, unless there are symptoms which require keeping them in institutional quarantine, it said.

Health conditions of people in home quarantine shall be monitored on a daily basis and there shall be no movement from containment zones, it added.

The nodal officers of concerned states shall ensure strict compliance of MHA and MoHFW guidelines related to social distancing and safety during inter-state movement of people, the SOP said.

In case of inter-state movement, the nodal officers of the sending and receiving states shall coordinate with each other and mutually agree to the movement of persons as per the schedule, it said.

Those willing to come back should mandatorily get themselves registered on the web portal (https://dsclservices.in/uttarakhand-migrant-registration.php).

The nodal officers shall ensure that security personnel are deployed as liaison officers in buses to accompany the passengers. A list of such officers shall be prepared and shared with the respective state governments for effective coordination, it said.

The liaison officers/ drivers shall ensure adequate availability of dry food, drinking water, masks and sanitisers in the buses, it added.

The vehicles used in inter-state transportation of persons may be slightly modified using a transparent poly-sheet for segregating the driver's cabin so as to ensure safety of the driver and/ or the liaison officers, the SOP said.

On their return to their respective districts, the liaison officers/ drivers shall also be quarantined for a reasonable time, as advised by the medical team. Decent hotels/ facilities shall be identified for them, it said.