Maharashtra CM says over 5 lakh migrants have been sent back to their States safely
May 18, 2020
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 18 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday said that over five lakh migrants have been safely sent back to their native States by trains and buses and appealed to them to not walk on foot as 'trains and buses are being arranged for them' by his government.
"Till now, we have arranged the safe return of over 5 lakh migrants. I appeal to them to not travel on foot. We are arranging trains and buses for them. It's just a matter of some time. Please don't be restless, have some patience," Thackeray said while addressing the State.
The Chief Minister said that some relaxations have been brought in Green and Orange zones.
"We have to keep us safe and keep the financial wheel going. Till now 50,000 industries have started working. Around 5 lakh labourers are working there," he said.
"We proposed a budget and before we could implement that, we had to face this problem of pandemic. We are committed to implementing our budget and we will definitely do that," he added.
In addition to this, Thackeray said that his government is planning to attract investments in the state. "We have kept 40,000 acres of land reserved for new industries," he said.
The Chief Minister said that the coronavirus pandemic will have to be tackled before the monsoon season begins as "schools and colleges will be scheduled to resume in June."
Outlining the facilities in the State to take on COVID-19, Chief Minister Thackeray said: "We have set up several COVID-19 facilities in Mahalakshmi Race Course, MMRDA Grounds, etc."
"We are keeping our focus on putting up beds with oxygen facility and ICU beds. Till now we have 1,484 COVID care centres in our State. We have a capacity of 2.5 lakh beds to treat COVID patients."
The Chief Minister appealed to the people to also join the COVID-19 healthcare workforce if they are healthy and willing. He also thanked political parties of the State for his unopposed election as a Member of Legislative Council (MLC).
"Today I took oath as a legislator and this is only because of your blessings. I also thank all political parties of Maharashtra that they all cooperated for an unopposed election in such tough times," he added.
Maharashtra, the State worst-hit by COVID-19, on Sunday extended lockdown till May 31 in view of the surging cases.
Meanwhile, 2,033 more COVID-19 cases and 51 deaths reported in Maharashtra today. The total number of cases in the State is now at 35,058, including 25,392 active cases and 1,249 deaths, said the state's Health Department.
