The Centre on Monday said action has been taken against the officials who allegedly sprayed disinfectant on migrant workers in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly. The incident had triggered a controversy after a video clip of the same went viral on social platforms.
“Bareilly District Magistrate has clarified that some employees took an overzealous step due to ignorance. Action has been taken against them,” Lav Aggarwal, joint secretary, ministry of health, told reporters in Delhi.
In the footage, a group of migrant workers, who had returned to their homes from various cities, was seen squatting on the road near a checkpoint, while the officials wearing protection gear were spraying disinfectant on them. Some of the workers even had their luggage strapped onto their bodies as they got drenched.
One of the officials can be heard asking the labourers to keep their eyes closed.
There were also allegations that women migrant labourers were forced by the administration in Bareilly to take an open bath using sanitiser solution before they were allowed to enter the district.
Hundreds of labourers have left cities like Delhi and Mumbai and travelled to their village, many of them on foot, after the Union government announced a 21-day lockdown in its effort to contain the coronavirus spread.
On Sunday, the Centre directed all states to not allow the exodus of migrant workers as it fears that these labourers could be the potential carriers of the virus.
