876 Andhra fishermen stranded in Gujarat reaches Vijayawada

As many as 876 fishermen belonging to Srikakulam and Vizianagaram who were stranded in Gujarat in the wake of the lockdown have arrived the state on Friday morning with the initiative of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. 850 civilians in all 12 buses from Gujarat to Telangana reached Vijayawada on Friday morning. On the occasion, they were warmly received and greeted at the check post by the whip Udayabhanu and SP Ravindra Babu.

The government whip Udayabhanu then handed over to Kiddi packets at Jaggaiyapet. They have prepared breakfast packets and water bottles at five places without causing any problems. The panchayat staff kept the bleaching powder spills clean in five places where the buses were parked. The police are taking adequate measures to maintain physical distance throughout the week.

The fishermen are expected to reach Visakhapatnam on Friday. Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy has taken the initiative and spoke directly to Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani over the evacuation of the stranded fishermen. It is learnt that the state government has set up buses and all other facilities at the expense of the government.

In this backdrop, all those who took off buses from Gujarat on Wednesday were screened and they arrived in Telangana state on Thursday night at around 9 pm. Among the fishermen, 396 were from Srikakulam district, 420 from Visakhapatnam, 25 from Vizianagaram district and the rest from other districts.

Meanwhile, the state has recorded 1403 coronavirus positive cases till Thursday with 325 recovered cases and 31 fatalities. The state has so far conducted the 94,558 samples.