Another motorboat carrying 25 Odia migrant workers from Chennai reached Rameyapatna in Ganjam district of Odisha on Monday afternoon.
They had undertaken the arduous sea voyage to dodge the continuing lockdown and reach their homes in Ganjam district. This motorboat also carried 14 others, who disembarked at some place in their home State of Andhra Pradesh, said the returned workers.
The 39 migrant workers had collected ₹1.8 lakh to buy the motorboat. They began their voyage from Chennai on April 23. As most of them are from fishing communities, with experience at sea, they dared to make the 850-km-long voyage in a small fishing boat.
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Officials of the Ganjam District administration and police were waiting at Rameyapatna to prevent the workers from coming into contact with anyone after getting down from the boat. According to Berhampur Sub-Collector Sindhe Dattatreya Bhau Saheb, the group will be placed under quarantine and undergo medical check-ups. Swab samples of persons with possible symptoms will be sent for COVID-19 test.
By the sea
On the evening of April 25, a motorboat carrying 38 migrant workers from Chennai had reached Patisunapur of Ganjam district. They included 29 workers from the Ganjam district of Odisha and nine others from adjoining Andhra Pradesh, all of whom are now under quarantine in Ganjam district. They had spent ₹2 lakh to buy the boat.
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Odisha State Transport Minister Padmanabh Behera has ordered a probe into their return despite the lockdown.
On April 20, another motorboat used for fishing, carrying 27 migrant workers stranded in Chennai, including ten from Odisha and 17 from Andhra Pradesh, reached the Donkuru coast in Andhra Pradesh. All of them were quarantined in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh.
