‘In 10-15 days, we’ll send all migrant labourers back to their home states’

Gujarat chief minister Vi jay Rupani spoke to Smriti Kak Ramachandran about

Ahmedabad emerging as a Covid-19 hot spot, the concerns of migrant workers, and getting the state economy back on track. Edited excerpts:

Gujarat continues to see a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases. There are over 5,000 cases and 300 deaths, making the state one of the worst hit. Was there a slip up in arresting the spread ?

The state was under lockdown even before the nationwide lockdown was announced. There was a complete ban on movement of people. However, Gujarat is one of the leading states in India with a large number of international and domestic travellers. This increases the possibility of more cases. By the time we registered our first case on March 19, we’d screened around 30,000 passengers and put them under quarantine.We ensured strict implementation of MHA guidelines.

Meanwhile, a large number of people who attended the Tablighi Jamat Markaz, came here, and by the time we could track them, they had already come in contact with their friends, family and other people. This led to the rise of cases. Another reason for rise in cases is our intensive testing capacity. With a capacity of 3,000 per day, we have tested around 80,000 people till date.

The government has not been able to reach out to allay the fears of migrant workers. There have been several instances of migrant workers rushing out on the streets; of stone-pelting and tear gas.

Gujarat has developed a number of regional economic centres, with Ahmedabad and Surat being the biggest. These cities host lakhs of labourers... We ensured arrangements of proper food and shelter. We provided free foodgrain to migrant workers, including to those without ration cards.. .there are shelter homes for the homeless. The workers in Surat demanded to go back. The guidelines of the lockdown did not allow us to make travel arrangements for them in April. But, we did allow industrial units outside the containment zones to resume work, under certain conditions.. .This led to opening up of more than 40,000 industrial units and businesses and around seven lakh labourers could resume work. There are still thousands who want to go back to their homes ... I believe it will take 10-15 days for all the labourers to be able to go back to their states.

Since there is large-scale movement of labourers, are you worried that the state may face a shortage of manpower?

Based on central guidelines, we decided to resume industrial operations from April 20 in areas outside containment zones and municipal limits. I do not think we will face a shortage of manpower .

What are the immediate steps being taken to revive economy?

We decided to restart all industrial units and businesses ...We also provided the freedom to labourers to work for a 12-hour shift with additional remuneration for extra hours.