IMPHAL, May 2 - A batch of 87 stranded people belonging to Manipur arrived here from Guwahati, Assam, today. These people, including students, who had returned from different parts of the country, were forced to halt at Guwahati due to the lockdown imposed from March 24.
The citizens had put up at the Manipur Bhavan in Guwahati. They were brought back to the State in four special buses arranged by the Manipur Government. The buses reached the Mao Gate located along the Manipur-Nagaland border around 8.30 am and necessary screening of the passengers was conducted, official sources said.
After the Health team stationed at the Mao Gate permitted the passengers to proceed after following the necessary guidelines, the buses arrived in the State capital around 12.30 pm.
The passengers were immediately evacuated to a government centre located on the outskirts of Imphal town for COVID-19 tests.
Additional Director of the Manipur Health Department Dr Khoirom Sasheekumar Mangang said no passenger showed any symptoms at the screening point at Mao. However, all of them will be tested for the disease by Health workers at the centre and depending on the results, further steps will be taken. Those with negative results will be sent to home quarantine, he said.
Meanwhile, Health and Family Welfare Minister L Jayentakumar, accompanied by the Director of the Manipur Health Department, Dr K Rajo Singh, and other officials, visited the centre run by the Government, and appealed to the returnees to follow the government guidelines on the COVID-19 pandemic.
When contacted, the Administrative Officer of the Manipur Bhavan, Guwahati, Chingangbam Rajen Singh said that other stranded people from the State also arrived at the Bhavan today.