All the people of the Himachal Pradesh stranded in various parts of the country willing to come back to the State would be thoroughly medically examined and would have to stay under institutional quarantine before they could go to their native place. This was stated by the Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur while addressing the meeting of Nodal Officers appointed by the State Government to coordinate with other State Governments to facilitate movement of stranded Himachalis in different parts of the country and other stranded persons inside the State.Chief Minister said that the Government was concerned about the safety of the people of the State stranded in different parts of the country, but at the same time it was also committed for the safety of the people of the State. He said that the State Government has decided that all the people coming to the State from other parts of the country would be quarantined before allowing them to go home. He said that all the Himachalis coming from Punjab, Maharashtra and from other red zones of the country would be tested for COVID-19.Jai Ram Thakur asked the nodal officers to ensure that they keep a close liaison with the nodal officers of the States assigned to them, so that the matter of bringing back the stranded Himachalis could be taken with the respective state governments at the earliest. He said that priority would be given to the students for bringing them back to the State as they were the most vulnerable section. He said that all the nodal officers should redress the query of the stranded person on priority.Chief Minister said that as many as 52,763 people of the State stranded in different parts of the country have applied for the COVID e-Pass. He said that similarly about 63,044 people of different states of the country stranded in Himachal Pradesh want to leave the State for their native places. He said that till date as many as 30,219 people of other States have already left the State. He said that it must be ensured that the people wishing to go back to other states should be provided all possible facilities to ensure their smooth return. He said that the workers must be persuaded to stay back as this would hamper the developmental projects in the State.
Jai Ram Thakur said that on the request of the State Government, the Union Government has agreed to run a special train from Thivim/Margao/Karamali(Goa) to Una to facilitate movement of the people of Himachal Pradesh stranded in Goa. He said that a special train would start from Goa on 13th or 14th of May to carry the Himachalis back home. He said that another special train would start from Bengaluru on 11th May to Una to facilitate movement of the people of Himachal Pradesh stranded in Bengaluru. He said that the State Government was also contemplating to urge the Union Government to start similar trains from Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Bihar etc. to facilitate the people of Himachal Pradesh stranded there.Chief Minister said that adequate arrangement would be made at the railway station, Una for ensuring proper social distancing. He said that proper arrangements of masks, sanitizers and food packages would be made there. He said that separate district wise counters would be established there to facilitate the people. He said that the State Government would also take necessary arrangements to bring back Himachalis stranded in Punjab, Uttrakhand, Haryana and Rajasthan.Forest Minister Govind Singh Thakur, Chief Secretary Anil Khachi, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Sanjay Kundu, FC-cum-Principal Secretary Revenue-DMC to Government of Himachal Pradesh Onkar Chand Sharma, Secretary Information and Public Relations and Urban Development Rajneesh, Secretary Finance and Housing Akshay Sood, Divisional Commissioner, Shimla and Secretary Lokayukta, Rajeev Sharma, Labour Commissioner-cum-Director, Employment, Managing Director, SIDC S.S. Guleria, Secretary to Governor Himachal Pradesh and Special Secretary Agriculture Rakesh Kanwar, Special Secretary Finance and Jal Shakti Vibhag, Dev Dutt Sharma, Director HIPA & Land Records Chander Prakash Verma ,Director Energy and MD HP State Civil Supplies Corporation, Manasi Sahay Thakur, Director Finance and Personnel, HPSEB Ltd. Shimla Sudesh Mokhta, Director Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Lalit Jain, Special Secretary MPP and Power Hemraj Bairwa, Director Personnel and Finance HPPCL Manmohan Sharma, Director Elementary Education Rohit Jamwal, Special Secretary to Chief Minister and Revenue Duni Chand Rana, Special Secretary Forest and Industries and Managing Director to HP State Handicrafts and Handloom Dev. Corporation Neeraj Kumar attended the meeting.