A day after migrants began flocking in hundreds to Delhi's Anand Vihar Bus Stand while attempting to return home, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has appealed to them to stay put.
"A large number of people are returning from cities they work in to their villages due to the coronavirus lockdown. I appeal to them, please stay wherever you are," he said.
Speaking about the incident on Saturday, Kejriwal said that he had seen pictures of the "gathering of thousands of people".
"When you are standing in a crowd, even if a single person among it is infected with COVID-19, you will also get infected. Think about your own life and your family," the CM reminded, adding that those travelling from cities to villages across the country could very well be taking the virus to villages.
Addressing a press conference at the national capital, Kejriwal said that people should be following the mantra put forward by Prime Minister Modi and should "stay where you are".
"If we don't follow this, the lockdown will not be successful and the country will fail in the fight against this virus," he added.
Appealing to migrant workers to stay back in Delhi, Kejriwal saidte government had made arrangements in schools for lodging those without shelter. Stadiums too had been emptied and could be utilised for shelter if needed, he said.
"Delhi government is providing lunch and dinner to more than four lakh people every day. We are putting in all the efforts to make sure that everyone gets food in the national capital. There is no dearth of food and water," he assured.
Kejriwal also drew a parallel between the situations in other countries such as the US and Italy. "Thankfully, India is not in that stage yet. But going into a crowd will invite risks of infection," he said.
In India, slightly less than 1000 people have so far tested positive. 25 people who had earlier tested positive have passed away. Globally there have so far been 684,652 cases. The global death toll as of Sunday has crossed 32,000.
