'5 lakh migrants sent home, more to follow,' says CM Uddhav; wants Covid beaten by monsoon

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray while addressing the state on Monday said that over five lakh migrants have been safely sent back to their native states by trains and buses. He appealed to them to not walk on foot as 'trains and buses are being arranged for them' by his government.

'I appeal to them not to travel on foot'

"Till now, we have arranged the safe return of over 5 lakh migrants. I appeal to them to not travel on foot. We are arranging trains and buses for them. It's just a matter of some time. Please don't be restless, have some patience," Thackeray said. The Chief Minister said that some relaxations have been brought in Green and Orange zones. "We have to keep us safe and keep the financial wheel going. Till now 50,000 industries have started working. Around 5 lakh labourers are working there," he said.

"We proposed a budget and before we could implement that, we had to face this problem of pandemic. We are committed to implementing our budget and we will definitely do that," he added. In addition to this, Thackeray said that his government is planning to attract investments in the state. "We have kept 40,000 acres of land reserved for new industries," he said.

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Uddhav said that the COVID-19 pandemic will have to be tackled before the monsoon season begins as "schools and colleges will be scheduled to resume in June." Outlining the facilities in the State to take on COVID-19, he said, "We have set up several COVID-19 facilities in Mahalakshmi Race Course, MMRDA Grounds, etc."

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"We are keeping our focus on putting up beds with oxygen facility and ICU beds. Till now we have 1,484 COVID care centres in our State. We have a capacity of 2.5 lakh beds to treat COVID patients." The Chief Minister appealed to the people to also join the COVID-19 healthcare workforce if they are healthy and willing.

READ | 2,033 new COVID-19 cases & 51 deaths reported in Maharashtra; total tally at 35,058

Meanwhile, 2,033 more COVID-19 cases and 51 deaths were reported in Maharashtra on Monday. The total number of cases in the State stands at 35,058, including 25,392 active cases and 1,249 deaths, said the state's Health Department.

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(With ANI inputs)