Odisha Urges Centre To Draw Up SOP For Stranded People

Bhubaneswar: The chief minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik, in his video-interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urged the Union government to draw up a national Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for stranded people, the news agency ANI reported on Tuesday. Patnaik participated in the meeting with the Prime Minister via video-conference held with chief ministers on Monday in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

The Odisha chief Minister also called on the Centre to enhance the testing facilities for COVID-19. Prime Minister Modi told chief ministers of various states that the lockdown in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, has yielded positive results and has succeeded in saving thousands of lives.

Naveen Patnaik urged the Centre to prepare a national SOP for smooth movement of stranded workers, students, pilgrims, patients and other professionals in various parts of the country in view of the nationwide lockdown. Odisha has also sought an extension of the lockdown period.

The Odisha chief minister had earlier held discussions with the chief ministers of Gujarat and Maharashtra to arrange for the safe return of stranded people from Odisha in those states. Odisha has migrant labourers in virtually every state of the country in sectors such as construction and various fields related to engineering.