Guwahati, April 25: In a major relief to those stranded in different parts of Assam because of the coronavirus lockdown, the state government has opened a three-day window for the "conditional" movement of people. Starting today, those stranded in different districts within the state will be allowed to travel and go to their homes. The movement of people will be allowed till Monday (April 27). Coronavirus Live Tracker.
The Assam government has issued at least one lakh special passes for travelling within the state. Migrant workers stranded because of the coronavirus lockdown have also been allowed to go to their hometowns within Assam. Besides, employees who want to reach their districts of posting and patients who need to go to hospitals on referral can travel within the state. At 12,000 passes have been issued for Saturday. Karnataka Allows Industries to Resume Operations in 9 Coronavirus-Free Districts, Lets Labourers Travel Within State.
While over 51,000 intrastate travel passes have been given to those who will travel from their personal cars, the state government will run buses of the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) to facilitate travel for over 41,000 people. All standard operating procedures and safety norms stipulated by the government will be implemented during the travel.
"This is not blanket permission for all people, but would be conditional. People can avail of this scope for three days only with the prior approval of the deputy commissioners. Those stuck in other districts can return home and such movements would be only single way for home-bound people and office-bound employees as most state government offices have resumed functioning with stipulated restrictions," Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 25, 2020 03:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).