Movement of stranded persons begins in U’khand, SOPs issued

DEHRADUN, 2 May: The state government has finalised the standard operating procedures for inter-state and intra-state movement of stranded persons. Already, the movement of stranded persons has begun in Uttarakhand and other states.

Shailesh Bagauli, Secretary, Transport and Sanjay Gunjyal, IG, SDRF have been designated by the State Government as Nodal Officers for coordination with various state governments. As per the guidelines issued by the government, in this respect, the people of Uttarakhand residing in other states who have to return to Uttarakhand would have to mandatorily get themselves registered on the web portal (https://dsclservices.in/uttarakhand-migrant-registration.php).  Alternately, they would be free to contact the control room and inform the control room of their travel requirements. It would be the responsibility of the State Nodal Officers to ensure comprehensive transportation plan and implementation on the basis of these registrations and calls. They would have to prepare a detailed state-wise and district-wise transportation plan comprising of the names and contact details of passengers travelling, contact details of Liaison Officers and/ or drivers and route map/ travel plan. The nodal officers would have also to ensure deployment of security personnel as Liaison Officers in buses to accompany the passengers from other states, as and when required. A list of such Liaison Officers would have to be prepared and shared with the respective state governments for effective coordination. The State Nodal Officers/ District Nodal Officers/ Liaison Officers would be required to ensure strict compliance of Union Home Ministry and Union Health Ministry guidelines related to social distancing and safety during inter-state movement of persons. For inter-state movement, the Nodal Officers of the sending and receiving states would coordinate with each other and mutually agree to the movement as per the schedule. They would also be required to get detailed information of health conditions and travel history of the people for necessary follow up on their arrival in the state. A special format has been prepared to get the details.

The sending states would have to ensure that the people willing to move to their respective states were properly screened at the time of boarding the vehicle and only those who did not show Covid-19 symptoms would be allowed to proceed. Any movement of people from the containment zones was not permissible at present. The District Nodal Officers would identify separate boarding and alighting areas for inter-state movement of persons particularly in Dehradun, Haridwar, US Nagar and Nainital districts. Adequate police personnel would be deployed in these areas for effective coordination and supervision. State Nodal Officers, in coordination with the District Nodal Officers, would prepare a detailed logistics plan and also identify alternative arrangements for boarding/ alighting/ quarantine, in case of an unexpected rise in the inbound people.The border districts of the receiving states would make arrangements for thermal screening, food, drinking water, toilets and additional vehicles for movement to different districts at the identified alighting points, from where they would further proceed to their respective districts. The district nodal officers of receiving border districts would provide district wise list of such people to the nodal officers of the districts to which these persons needed to travel, with a copy to the State Nodal Officer. 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 symptoms were seen requiring institutional quarantine of such persons. Health conditions of people in home quarantine would have to be monitored on a daily basis through BRTs/ CRTs/ GPs and such information may be shared with the State Nodal Officer. District Nodal Officers would also ensure that the entire staff in the identified quarantine centres was well-trained regarding DOs and Don’ts for prevention of COVID infection.

People willing to come back to Uttarakhand, in their private vehicles, would  have to mandatorily register themselves on the web link (https://dsclservices.in/uttarakhand-migrant-registration.php) and also download the format of forms required to be filled up prior to beginning their journey. They would have to submit this format during screening at the border check posts. In case of any difficulty, they could also contact the control room. Such people would be required to apply for permits from the districts where they are currently residing in clearly mentioning their destination, date of journey and the route. Such permits would be honoured by the States along the transit route. However, people residing in containment zones would not be issued such permits and they would not be permitted to travel. Nodal officers of other states might be requested and a mechanism devised to ensure that permits for inter- state were issued only to those who had registered themselves on the web link.

District administration would ensure proper screening of such people on their arrival at the district borders. The district authorities of border districts of Uttarakhand would make arrangements for screening of such people near their border posts. Such screening places would be required to have proper arrangements of parking for vehicles, food, drinking water and toilets. Any person showing symptoms of covid-19 infection, would have to be necessarily put in institutional quarantine in the districts of their entry.

People coming back to Uttarakhand but belonging to areas identified as containment zones in the state, would be given the option of staying at a place not in the containment zone or would have to be institutionally quarantined till such time as the restrictions in those containment zones applied. People travelling in their private vehicles would ensure that their vehicles were properly sanitised and MHA and MoHFW guidelines related to social distancing and safety were strictly adhered to.The information about such people entering the state and allowed to move to their respective districts or kept in quarantine would be shared with the destination districts and State Nodal Officers.

On arrival at their destination, such people would be screened by the health authorities and kept in home quarantine for a minimum period of 14 days, unless symptoms are seen which require keeping them in institutional quarantine. The health conditions of people in home quarantine would also be monitored on a daily basis. List of containment zones would be shared between states on a daily basis so as to ensure that there is no movement of people to/ from such areas.

For People Travelling by Trains, the State Nodal Officers would coordinate with the Nodal Officers of other states and prepare a detailed list of such inbound passengers. The district Nodal Officers would ensure proper thermal screening, food, drinking water and clean toilet facility at the railway stations. Similar protocols shall be observed for movement of such people to their respective districts, as for travel by other modes of transport.

CONTROL ROOM NUMBERS are- 0135 2722100, 9557194828, 8476824218, 9536099082, 7017082637, 7983129119, 8279577133, 7906434586, 8979376382, 9045394752, 9045184752

9045134752, 9045014752, 9389919096, 9389930624, 9389940616 and 9389939866.