MARGAO
The joy of the people of Cutbona and the health authorities that migrant workers descending on the fishing jetty will be compulsorily tested for Covid appears short-lived.
Though the South Goa district administration headed by Collector, Ajit Roy had on Sunday decided to make Covid testing mandatory for all the workers coming to the jetty, the decision has not found favour with the state administration.
The sudden turn of events took place on Tuesday when the office of the Collector sent the minutes of the Sunday meeting to the various officials for confirmation. To their utter surprise and shock, the minutes were immediately withdrawn by the district administration, leaving many an official to wonder what was happening behind the scenes.
Sources in the know pointed out that the state administration is believed to have questioned the decision of the district administration to make testing mandatory for the migrant labourers descending on fishing jetty to work on the trawlers.
It is learnt that the state administration appeared worried that a separate SOP for the Cutbona fishing jetty would not only send a wrong signal and contradict the MHA guidelines, which had opened the state borders for movement of people without testing.
The state administration was also worried that people may clamour for a separate SOP for the industrial workers returning to the state to work in the industrial estates, thereby defeating the purpose of the MHA guidelines.
“Since the district administration has not received any response from the state administration on the decision to make Covid certificates mandatory for migrant workers arriving at the jetties, it was left with no option but to withdraw the minutes of the Sunday meeting,” a senior official told The Goan.
Failure to confirm the minutes of the Sunday meeting, sources say, implies that the Fisheries Director Dr Shamila Monteiro’s letter to the fisheries officers to allow migrant labourers at the fishing jetties sans Covid certificates continues to remain in force.
Collector Ajit Roy had held a meeting with various officials on Sunday to discuss the migrants’ issues at the Cutbona jetty after the Balli
PHC Health Officer, Dr Tulsimamata Kakodkar, wrote a letter to him strongly rooting for Covid certificates for all the migrant crew.
