Mumbai: In a serious bid to reach out to the migrants staying in relief camps in the state during lockdown, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray urged them to stay put and not to go to their hometown or villages.
He assured them that the government is committed to taking up their case. "Why do you want to go? Stay here, we will take care of you. Please do not try to go back," Uddhav Thackeray said in his web address.
Taking cognizance of the mob of migrants that gathered at Bandra on Tuesday evening, Thackeray said there is no need to panic, and reiterated that the lockdown imposed to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic isn't a lock-up.
The chief minister also warned those spreading rumours and playing politics by trying to make it an issue. Thackeray took a swipe against BJP after some of the party leaders claimed that the state government was to be blamed for the migrant crisis.
‘’This is not a time to do politics. We have our lifetimes ahead of us to do politics. Now is the time to come together and fight the war against the virus. I want to warn people, don't play politics using the fears of these innocent people,’’ he warned.
Thackeray said the migrants were probably under the impression that the lockdown would be lifted from April 14. So, they wanted to return to their homes.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah called Thackeray and expressed concern over the Bandra gathering. Shah stressed that such events weaken India’s fight against the novel coronavirus and the administration needs to stay vigilant to avoid such incidents.
He also offered his full support to the Maharashtra government. In his response, Thackeray reiterated that Maharashtra will take care of the migrants. The CM said he has been speaking to leaders across the political spectrum in view of the coronavirus crisis. He added that leaders of all political parties were together.
Thackeray said the state government has been fighting the crisis with fortitude and doing all that it can. ‘’Contrary to what a few feels and imagine, things in Maharashtra are going well and the state is conducting the highest number of tests in the country.
In just Mumbai, over 22,000-23,000 tests have been conducted and overall, 40,000 plus tests in Maharashtra have been done till Tuesday morning,’’ he noted. "We are dividing hospitals in Maharashtra into COVID-19 and nonCOVID. In COVID-19 hospitals, experts will be present to do dialysis, treat cardiac issues and diabetes.
This is a new step," said CM Thackeray. "We have 10 districts which have zero COVID-19 positive cases. We will maintain that, and we will try that all districts are COVID free as early as possible. Mumbai and Pune are hotspots and we are increasing our testing centres at these places. Containment zones are our prime focus for testing and sampling.
We are trying to remove all supply related problems even from containment zones," he said. "We have sought permission from the Centre for Convalescent Plasma (CP) therapy. As the Prime Minister has said that developers should come forward, we have started this. If we get permission, we will find the remedy soon and show the way to the world," he added.
