Mumbai: Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Friday asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to make arrangements to bring back students stranded overseas and also state pupils stuck in Kota town of Rajasthan due to the coronavirus-enforced lockdown.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, Chavan said out of around 50,000 Indian students stranded abroad, 5,000-7,000 are from Maharashtra.
He said Thackeray should contact the Centre for their safe passage back home.
Many studentsfrom the state, who had gone to Kotain Rajasthan to study for competitive examinations, are stranded there, Chavan said and added that Maharashtra should follow Uttar Pradesh in bringing them back.
“About 2,000 students (stuck in Kota) are from Maharashtra. Special buses need to be sent to get them back.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had sent 250 buses to bring back 7,500 students from his state,” Chavan said.
Chavan saiddistribution of newspapers should be started so that people get accurate news about the coronavirus pandemic.
Cable companies should be asked to lower their tariffs for the next three months, the Congress leader said.
Also, telecom companies should be asked to lower tariffs of WiFi which has become an essential service with people staying home and extensively using the wireless networking technology, the former chief minister said.
Chavan, whose party is a constituent in the state’s MVA government, said there should be a clarity on who should pay for COVID 19 testing.
“There should be clear directions that the testing will be done under the Mahatma Phule Jeevandayi Health Scheme (launched by the state government). Private doctors and nursing homes should be provided PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) kits,” Chavan said.
The former Union minister demanded that each migrant labourer in Maharashtra be paid Rs 2,000on the lines of similar financial aid given to construction workers.