COVID-19 Lockdown: Hundreds Of Odia Migrant Workers Entered Balasore From Bengal In Two Months, Says RDC

Balasore: Following the sudden rise in the number of corona positive cases in Balasore district, the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), Central Division, Anil Kumar Samal, on Tuesday informed that hundreds of Odia migrant workers had returned from West Bengal to the district in the past two months.

“It has been found that among these Odia migrant workers, some of them have managed to cross the border of the neighbouring state and entered the district,” Samal told mediapersons after a high-level meeting at the district headquarters here.

As Odisha shares around 100 km of border areas with West Bengal, the RDC said some Odia migrant workers managed to enter Balasore through paddy fields and some arrived in private ambulance vans. “We will take appropriate action against the owners of the private ambulance vans for illegally carrying these workers,” he added.

“We have identified these workers on the basis of the data prepared by the sarpanchs and the Gram Panchayat Extension Officers (GPEOs) and kept them in institutional quarantine for 14 days. We will collect their blood and swab samples for tests,” he said.