Migrant workers worry they will miss the bus

HYDERABAD:  A day after the Ministry of Home Affairs released guidelines for migrant workers to go back to their home States, confusion prevailed among migrant labourer groups. As per MHA guidelines, the migrant workers have to approach the nodal officer in their native States who will then compile a list and send it to Telangana, where respective districts will make arrangements.

This process has left many worried that they would miss the bus, quite literally. “We have no information on how to get on to these buses. We are not in touch with any officials so the process is not known,” said Santosh Kumar, a migrant worker on the outskirts of Hyderabad in Saregudam. Kamesh Baria, a migrant worker in Suryapet, from Madhya Pradesh shares a similar concern. He says people from different States are employed at the factory where he works. This has left many fearful that some may go and some won’t in case the native State doesn’t account for them. 

Activists have also urged the Telangana government to give powers to Collectors to look into the existing data of migrant workers they collected for relief work and seek permissions from other States to start evacuation. “The present method is complete hogwash.

How will workers from the unorganised sector have access to helpline numbers or any information about their native State,” said Dr K Krishnan, executive director of Foundation for Sustainable Development. 
Further questions are being raised about co-ordination of transport. “When calls were made by activists to nodal officers in other States, we got vague responses. Collectors must be empowered,” added Varsha Bhargavi, labour and child rights activist.

Cops assist migrants on foot to reach native villages
Adilabad: Nearly 1,000 migrant labourers with their children walked from Hyderabad  to Luxettipet town by crossing Raipatnam bridge in Mancherial district on Thursday. The natives of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, lost their jobs soon after the lockdown. They decided to walk back to their native villages as there was nothing left for them in the city. They said Luxettipet police did not stop them, but rather helped them hitchhike on goods lorries on the way to Mancherial town 

Centre must run free trains for migrant workers, says Talasani 
Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav urged the Central government to run free special trains to help migrant labourers in Telangana reach their home States. The Minister, on Thursday, said that the Centre should not wash its hands off simply by saying that migrant labourers are now allowed to go home. If they were to travel by bus, it would take three-five days for migrant workers to reach their States like Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh from Telangana. The Centre should run special trains and provide free transportation for migrant labourers, Srinivas Yadav said.