Jaypee Sports International Ltd. (JPSI) Sports City on Yamuna Expressway which is the home to India’s first Formula 1 race circuit has been designated to be used as shelter homes. ANI reports that the Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate, BN Singh has announced that JPSI Sports City, Yamuna Expressway along with their buildings and other resources have selected as grounds to provide shelter and house returning migrants from Delhi.
ANI reports that an order dated March 29 by the Distract Magistrate says “JPSI Sports City, Yamuna Expressway along with their building and other resources have been designed as shelter homes with immediate effect for the medical treatment, food and lodging of people of the distract of other states, who are destitute in Gautam Buddh Nagar”
Due to the highly contagious coronavirus pandemic, India has been forced to go under a nationwide lockdown. The lockdown has been done in order to contain the spread of the virus in the country. On the flip side of the lockdown, a large chunk of migrant workers who work on daily wages were left with no option but to walk back to their hometown after the lockdown was announced as they were left unemployed.
The government is currently identifying more locations to shelter stranded workers. Their medical treatment, food and lodging are said to be provided by the State Government of Uttar Pradesh. The District Magistrate has used Chapter 12 of the Covid-19 guidelines, 2020 to use Jaypee Sports City as the location to provide shelter to the migrants.
The Buddh International Circuit was the home to the Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix from 2011-2013. However, due to the taxation laws and high custom duties in addition to the F1 organisers requesting hold the race in the first half of the season, along with the hefty hosting fees demanded by Formula One had led to the race being dropped from the calendar after three Grand Prix races. Recently, the Buddh International Circuit was sealed by the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) after Jaypee failed to clear financial dues worth Rs 600 crore.
