Surat: At the start of the second wave of the pandemic, health officials in Surat claimed that the increase in cases in Maharashtra has pushed up the rate of infection in Diamond City.
Meanwhile, when the neighboring state is imposing fresh restrictions due to a resurgence in Covid cases, top civic officials in Surat city claim that no positive cases have been found among migrant workers from Maharashtra.
On an average, thousands of residents of Maharashtra commute to the city daily from their native places via buses and private vehicles for various purposes. Surat has an estimated four lakh Maharashtrian migrant population and due to its proximity to the maximum city, travel between the two states is frequent for social and cultural reasons.
In Maharashtra, curfew was relaxed in various districts till 9 pm, which has been tightened once again for five hours from 4 pm to 7 am. “The rest time has been reduced. Earlier, the curfew used to start after 9 pm, but from Monday, the curfew will start from 4 pm,” said Mukesh Suryavanshi, a resident of Jalgaon. Suryavanshi claimed that the number of daily cases has now increased to 25 from 13 to 15 a week ago.
There is a total lockdown in Buldhana district on Saturday and Sunday. “The curfew has been extended again due to the increasing number of cases and it remains completely closed on weekends. Due to restrictions, it is challenging to find transport between Surat and Buldhana,” said Dindoli resident Tanaji Vaddha.
Sunita Wasekar, a resident of Nandurbar, a border district, said, “Due to the revised timings, we have to finish the routine work before that time. The administration is again strictly enforcing the curfew.”
When TOI visited Saroli, one of the main entry points for vehicles coming from Maharashtra, all the employees of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) were seen comfortably without wearing uniforms and interacting inside the test dome. Along with the health team, security marshals of the SMC have also been deployed at these centers to stop the outside vehicles and check the visitors.
“There is no increase in positive cases among migrant workers from Maharashtra who are being tested in the textile market. We are closely monitoring the developments in the neighboring state.
Health officials in Valsad claimed that they have stopped testing at the entry point, while at the border entry point in Dang, health officials are conducting random tests.
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