Arunachal Pradesh government appoints officers for bringing back stranded people

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ITANAGAR: The Arunachal Pradesh government has appointed 17 nodal officers to facilitate movement of stranded people across the country due to the nationwide lockdown to contain COVID-19 pandemic.

The officers would coordinate with various State governments to ensure smooth and orderly movement of stranded persons to Arunachal following the guidelines of the union Home Ministry issued from time to time, a top government official informed here on Tuesday.

The State government had decided to bring the stranded persons in a phased manner to the state following the standard protocols ensuring hand hygiene and social distancing norms, Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar said.

Kumar in an official order on Monday appointed Home commissioner Kaling Tayeng as the state nodal officer to facilitate smooth movement of the stranded persons in coordination with the 17 nodal officers appointed for the purpose.

Commissioner to Governor Sagar Preet Hooda has been appointed as the nodal officer for Harayana and Punjab while Planning Commissioner Prashant Lokhande would look after the movement of the stranded people at Mumbai.

Education Secretary Niharika Rai and Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) Secretary A R Talwade have been appointed for Karnataka, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) Madhur Verma for Delhi and Chandigarh, Secretary to Chief Minister Ameya Abhyankar for Goa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu and Puducherry and Rural Development Secretary Govind Jaiswal has been appointed as nodal officer for Uttar Pradesh.

Tourism Secretary Sadhna Deori is the nodal officer for Assam, Textile & Handicraft Secretary Swapnil Naik for Gujarat and Lakshwadeep, Fire and Emergency service SP Romil Baniya for Uttarkhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh and Industry Secretary N T Glow for West Bengal and Tripura respectively.

The State government had also appointed Tax & Excise Secretary Anirudh S Singh as the nodal officer for Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, Special secretary to CM Pranav Tayal for Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya and Sikkim besides, Planning Secretary Himanshu Gupta for Bihar, Odisha, Kerala and Rajasthan.

Moreover, SP of special investigating cell (SIC) M Harshvardhan has been appointed as the nodal officer for Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh Staff Selection board Secretary Santosh Kumar Rai for Telengana, Ladakh and Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Tourism Director Abu Tayeng as the nodal officer for Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram, the order stated.

"The nodal officers in coordination with the state nodal officer will coordinate with the state government of various states and ensure smooth movement of stranded people to Arunachal in phased manner starting with those stranded in the states of north east in the first phase and remaining states in subsequent phases," the order said.

The cost of transportation arranged by the nodal officers would be borne by the persons and the nodal officers would also facilitate the movement of the stranded persons who wish to arrange their own transport and return to the state.

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