Image Source: INDIA TODAY

In the wake of the central government's decision to impose a 21-day nationwide lockdown to subdue the spread of the novel coronavirus in India, thousands of migrant workers were seen heading back to their native villages in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat. In the absence of train and bus services, these workers and their families decided to embark on their return journey on foot. At the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border in Ghazipur, the governments of Delhi and UP arranged for buses to transport migrant workers back to their native villages. These workers will undergo thermal screening before making their way home, said a statement by the UP government. At the same time, the Bihar government decided to house migrant workers returning to their homes in quarantine camps to make sure that they do not end up transmitting Covid-19 unknowingly. However, a video shot in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly has raised questions about the conduct being meted out to these migrant workers who decided to return to their native villages after the central government ordered the closure of all non-essential businesses for three weeks. In the video, more than two dozen migrant workers can be seen sitting on the streets as sanitation workers wearing protective gear spray disinfectants on the workers. Bareilly District Magistrate Abhishek Prakash responded to questions about the conduct of sanitation workers as shown in the video. In a tweet on Monday, the DM said that the video has been probed and those responsible are being summoned by orders of the chief medical officer (CMO). DM Abhishek Prakash further adds, "Teams of Bareilly municipal corporation and fire brigade personnel were instructed to sanitise buses but they did so (spray disinfectants on people) as a measure of extra precaution. Orders have been issued for action against concerned persons.