The State government is according top priority to send migrant workers within the State and outside back to their respective places by roping in the Railways and APSRTC, Panchayat Raj Minister P. Ramachandra Reddy has said.
Addressing the media in Tirupati on Saturday after convening a meeting with the COVID-19 Task Force, Mr. Reddy said the government had taken the initiative to arrange transportation to the stranded workers.
“We have appealed to other States to extend a similar gesture to the stranded workers from Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
Referring to the plight of the tomato farmers in Chittoor district, Mr. Reddy said steps would be initiated to create marketing facilities for them at the mandal level.
11 discharged
District Collector Narayana Bharat Gupta said that Srikalahasti was declared a containment zone due to spike in the COVID-19 cases. The situation in other mandals was under control.
He said that 11 patients were discharged from hospital after they tested negative for the virus on Saturday. Two more persons would be discharged on Sunday, he added. The number of patients undergoing treatment would them be 38. “By May 14, the district is expected to be bracketed under the orange zone,” the Collector said.
Nurse, doctor posts
To augment the medical services, 89 posts of nurse and 90 posts of doctor would be filled on a war-footing in coordination with the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Mr. Gupata said.
He said steps were being taken to provide transportation facility to the students of the TTD-run Veda Patasala in Tirumala.
Deputy Chief Minister K. Narayanaswamy, SPs A. Ramesh Reddy (Tirupati) and S. Senthil Kumar (Chittoor), SVIMS Director B. Vengamma, SVRR COVID Hospital Superintendent Bharati and senior officials of the Railways, the APSRTC and other departments were present.
