Maharashtra: 35,000 migrant workers sent back to home state so far

At least 35,000 migrant labourers in Maharashtra have been sent back to their native places safely so far since the Centre allowed them to return home by train amid the covid-19 lockdown, a senior state government official said on Monday.

The state authorities have sent the migrant workers after medical checkup and all other precautionary measures to contain the spread of coronavirus, the official told reporters here.

"So far, we have sent 35,000 migrant labourers back to their native states. We are sending more people after checking. Every labourer has to undergo a primary medical checkup before being eligible to travel," he said.

The Maharashtra government is in touch with other states before planning to send back the migrant labourers to their native places, he said.

"We are taking all precautions before allowing the migrant labourers to board trains. It is difficult for us to detect those who are infected by coronavirus but are asymptomatic. We can''t do anything more than their primary health checkup," the official said.