As lakhs of migrant labourers are trying to reach their native villages amid the 21-day nationwide lockdown in special buses, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar has made it mandatory for them to stay in 14-day quarantine at state-run camps amid a nationwide lockdown over coronavirus or COVID-19.

Heartbreaking reports of desperate migrants workers facing the brunt of Coronavirus pandemic are coming in with each passing day, as in the nationwide lockdown they are left stranded without work, food or money and no means to reach their native villages, they are walking on foot to cover hundreds of kilometres after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, announced a  “total lockdown” for 21 days to of arrest the spread of Coronavirus pandemic.

Now the state governments of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have arranged some buses for them and thousands of them have thronged the bus stands,trying to catch those overcrowded buses.

The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered quarantine for approximately one lakh people who have arrived in the state from other parts of the country in the last three days.

According to a statement issued by the state government, Yogi Adityanath said that in the last three days, one lakh people have come to UP from other states.Their names, addresses and phone numbers have been made available to the district magistrates and they are being closely monitored.

The Chief Minister also issued directives that these people be kept in quarantine and arrangements for their food and other daily needs be fulfilled.

“All of these migrant labourers have to stay in government camps for 14 days. They would not be allowed to return to their homes,” Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said.

The state government is asking village heads, ASHA workers and other quasi-government officials to track down those who have come back in reverse migration and report to the police if they do not remain quarantined.

While in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has also ordered officials to set up relief camps for  thousands of migrant workers who are coming from other states  that share borders with adjoining states like Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, and also Nepal. These people will be allowed to go home after the 14-day mandatory quarantine period.

Last week, the local villagers were apprehensive about the migrant labourers come back to their villages as they feared that they will bring the virus and spread it there as well. Special camps were set up by local administration to keep them there.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday said sending stranded migrant workers to their home states would defeat the purpose of the lockdown and could increase the spread of the coronavirus. He said a better course of action would be to provide food and shelter to such people, wherever they are, by setting up special camps.

“Arrangement of buses could bring respite to people who have been enduring problems after the nationwide lockdown came into force. But we must be mindful of the danger. If just one passenger in any of these buses happens to be carrying the virus, it could spread,” the chief minister had said.

Over 900 are Coronavirus positive in India, with the death toll reaching 19. Meanwhile, the global death toll crossed 30,000 on Sunday, as total cases crossed 6,60,000.