Nearly 1 lakh migrant workers who have returned to Uttar Pradesh from other states amid the coronavirus-related lockdown will have to stay in quarantine camps for 14 days, the government said on Saturday. The mass exodus of thousands of migrant workers, who are leaving for their hometowns in packed buses, has sparked fears about the rapid spread of the coronavirus.

Chief Minister Adityanath on Saturday ordered officials to keep in quarantine nearly 1 lakh people who have arrived in the state in the last three days, PTI reported. He also instructed officials that the essential needs of people kept in quarantine must be fulfilled. District authorities have been given their names, addresses and phone numbers.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, meanwhile, appealed to people to avoid traveling and said that those coming to Uttar Pradesh will not be allowed to go home and will be kept in government-run quarantine camps. “No one will return home from Delhi, you will have to stay in government camps, not in your homes and villages, for 14 days,” he tweeted. “The government will cater to all your needs.”

On Saturday night, however, several groups of migrant workers were allowed to go to their villages after thermal scanning and examination by doctors, NDTV reported.

Uttar Pradesh’s neighbour Bihar, which has also seen an influx of migrant workers, will follow the same protocol, ANI reported. State minister Sanjay Kumar Jha said people coming back from neighbouring states will be kept in quarantine for 14 days in relief centres at state borders, where they will be provided food and other essential amenities.

On Saturday, nearly 15,000 migrant workers and their families jostled for space on buses arranged by the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to take them home. Only 60 to 70 buses arranged by the Uttar Pradesh government were available on Saturday. Before the government arranged for these buses, several migrant workers, left jobless by the lockdown, had set off towards their homes on foot.

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have 55 and nine confirmed cases of Covid-19, respectively, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. There are 979 confirmed cases across India and 25 people have died.

Political blame game over exodus

The Aam Aadmi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party traded allegations over the exodus of the migrant population. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia accused the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh of lying about the fact that the migrants had been forced to leave.

“I am very sad that BJP leaders are doing petty politics during the coronavirus pandemic,” he wrote on Twitter. “@myogiadityanath’s government has alleged that @ArvindKejriwal ordered to disconnect power and water supply to migrants in Delhi, forcing them to leave. It is the time to unite with seriousness to save the country, not for cheap politics.”

Sisodia was countered by Adityanath’s adviser Mrityunjay Kumar, who alleged “the exodus” was created by the Delhi government. “This huge exodus from Delhi is your government’s doing,” he said. “The migrants were neither given shelter nor food. Don’t attempt to save face by speaking untruth.”

FIR against AAP MLA Raghav Chadha

Meanwhile, a first information report was registered against Aam Aadmi Party MLA Raghav Chadha on Sunday for allegedly making objectionable comments against Adityanath, The Indian Express reported. Prashant Patel, an advocate, filed the FIR in Noida.

Chadha, in a tweet, had alleged that migrants travelling Delhi to Uttar Pradesh were being thrashed on the orders of Adityanath. “According to sources, Yogiji is getting migrants going from Delhi to UP beaten up,” Chadha said. “He is saying why did you go to Delhi and you will not be allowed to go to Delhi again. My appeal to UP government is not to do this and not to increase problems in this difficult hour.” However, Chadha later deleted the tweet.