Amidst several shutdowns due to the spread of COVID-19, the Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday said that it had taken note of the closure of several institutions overseas, in which many students from the state were studying. The state government has set up a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to follow as the students and other natives of the state return home.
“It has been observed that many institutions and other establishments located in various countries affected by COVID-19 are being closed down and these students and people are coming back to Andhra Pradesh,” the state said in a Government Order (GO).
The state government said that it will set up two control rooms – one in New Delhi and one in Amaravati.
“The Control Room in Delhi will be established in Andhra Pradesh Bhavan, New Delhi, whereas the second Control Room will be established in Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRTS) Cell at the Secretariat in Velagapudi in Amaravati,” the state government said.
The state government has appealed to those who are trapped in foreign countries due to the COVID-19 outbreak to contact either of the two control rooms, so that their return can be facilitated.
The following people can be contacted at the control rooms:
AP Bhavan, New Delhi
1. P Ravi Shankar: +91 9871999055
2. Devender: +91 9871999059
APNRTS Cell, Andhra Pradesh Secretariat
1. Md. Karimullah Shaik: +91 8971170179
2. D Mohan Kumar: +91 8297259070
In the General Administration Department (GAD), the state government has put Deputy Secretary J Venkata Murali (+91 9515113245) as the overall coordinator for the control rooms.
“Murali will form a WhatsApp group with all the people from the control rooms and District Collectors as members. All the information received by the control rooms will be shared in this group,” the government order stated.
The state government also said that ‘hand-holding officers’ will be appointed to be in touch with the people who wish to return to the state and coordinate with their families, besides also being in touch with authorities.
The officers have been tasked with tracking the movement of people who wish to return and also coordinate with concerned officers in the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Civil Aviation and the respective Embassy.
The officers have also been asked to keep Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament V Vijayasai Reddy updated. Vijayasai is the special representative of Andhra Pradesh in New Delhi.
“Vijayasai will meet the Minister of External Affairs in person or depute a Member of Parliament to discuss the issue,” the state government said.
A High-Level Task Force has also been set up to monitor the entire operations, which includes Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas, Industries and Information Technology (IT) Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy, Public Affairs advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna and NRT Affairs advisor Medapati S Venkat, who is also President of APNRTS.
“The spirit of the above SOP is to enable every non-resident Telugu person who wants to come back to Andhra Pradesh due to closure of overseas institutions to have a hassle-free journey from their respective country,” the government said.
The SOP will come into effect from 12 noon on Thursday and will remain operational till further orders, the government said.
Meanwhile, the state reported its second COVID-19 case on Thursday after a man in Prakasam district tested positive for COVID-19. All educational institutions in the state have also been shut.
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