Amaravati: High Level Task force to help returnees

Amaravati: The state government constituted a High Level Task Force (HLTF) to effectively coordinate and monitor students and people coming from abroad to the state in the wake of Covid-19.

Praveen Prakash, principal secretary (political), in general administration department, issued the orders on Thursday through a GO RT No 584.

The members of the HLTF include Dy Chief Minister, health, family welfare and medical education Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas, minister for industries Mekapati Goutham Reddy, Government Advisor (Public Affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy and Government Advisor (NRT affairs) Medapati S Venkat.

As many institutions, including schools, colleges, universities are being closed in other countries affected by Covid-19, and the students and others have been returning from the countries to the state, the government initiated a series of measures to help them.

The state government appointed the officials as handholding officers.

In addition, the government also set up control rooms for facilitating the students.

Two control rooms, one each in Delhi and the state have been set up. P Ravi Shankar will be available at 98719 99055 and Devender at 98719 99059 at Andhra Bhavan in New Delhi. Md Karimullah Shaik at 89711 70179 and D Mohan Kumar at 82972 59070 at AP NRT cell at the state Secretariat in Amaravati.

J Venkata Murali, deputy secretary, coordination, general administration department (GAD) at the Secretariat, will be the overall coordinator for the two control rooms. He will coordinate between the control rooms and district administration and will transfer information between them in real time. The government also ordered appointment of hand-holding officers at Andhra Bhavan in New Delhi, who will be in touch with the students and persons desired to return to the state from various countries.

Whenever information is received regarding an individual or a group, the members of control rooms will report to AP Bhavan and the officials at the office will meet officer concerned in ministry of external affairs, ministry of civil aviation and the respective Embassy. The officer concerned of AP Bhavan will apprise V Vijayasai Reddy, Special Representative of AP in New Delhi and YSRCP MP. Vijayasai Reddy will meet the minister of external affairs in person or depute an MP to discuss the issue.