Nodal officers appointed to facilitate return of Himachal residents

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this year there will be less rains than normal in rainy season

With over one lakh Himachalis stranded outside the state keen to return home, the government today appointed nodal officers for every state across India to facilitate the return of its residents back home and also from the hill state to those states.

With thousands of students, pilgrims, employees and professionals keen to return home state and those stranded here wanting to go back to their respective home states, the state nodal officer along with the other nine officers will coordinate to facilitate their movement.

“The nodal officers will compile date of the requests received for inter-state movement, formulate a comprehensive plan, devise protocol and facilitate movement by use of public transport, private vehicles with officials of other states,” reads the order issued by Chief Secretary, Anil Khachi.

Onkar Sharma, Principal Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management has been appointed state nodal officer while Director Tourism Yunus, who is also MD of HRTC, has been made the state joint nodal officer.

A total of 3.60 lakh people have applied for getting the curfew passes, both from outside the state and for intra-state movement from one district to another. Sources revealed that out of this figure of 3.60 lakh, 90,000 persons have been issued e-passes since March 28, when the portal for obtaining the e-pass was made operational.

Out of these 90,000 e-passes, 67,000 persons have moved into the state or from one place to another within the state. The remaining too will be moving to and fro from the state and from one district to another within the state.

Himachalis are making frantic calls to the government on phones, WhatsApp and through e-mail to help those stranded in places like Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat, Assam and Tamil Nadu. Similar requests are pouring in from students and professionals from outside Himachal who are working in the corporate sector, hydel projects and industries to arrange their return to their native places across India. The officers have been asked to ensure staggered, smooth and orderly movement of the stranded people.