Buses ferry migrants and worries for Ganjam

BERHAMPUR /BHUBANESWAR: Restive migrant workers from Surat and their growing arrival kept Odisha on tenterhooks and prompted the Government to do some tough-talking to drive home the message of discipline. By Monday, at least 270 buses have arrived in the State. Going by information available, 90 percent of the buses coming in from Gujarat headed to Ganjam district where the administration is caught in an unenviable situation.

With Gujarat issuing travel permits indiscriminately through different agencies and Odisha virtually in dark till the last hours, local administration has found it difficult to keep an eye on them. Their inking at the border checkgates was a problem yesterday though it was sorted out on Monday. Besides, monitoring the inflow of the home-bound migrant workers was proving to be a tough task as the buses kept coming in during odd hours. “Screening of people coming by trains has been smooth and so is their transfer to quarantine centres. It is the buses that are posing a challenge,” sources said.

Most of the buses carrying migrant workers were seen reaching different places in the district without prior notice, and screening of the hurried passengers was haphazard. There were reports of returnees evading movement to quarantine centres. In face of a large inflow, the arrangement by the administration has proved suddenly inadequate. Of all the states from where migrants are expected to come back, Gujarat has emerged as a problem. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have been asking Odia workers to stay and get to their lives on track once lockdown is lifted.

Their respective governments have assured all support but that has not been the case with Gujarat. Of about 1.3 lakh Odias who registered themselves with TN government, just about 30 per cent have evinced interest to return. The flow from Kerala has been smooth. Karnataka is expected to be a similar affair but not Gujarat as both the police and district administration are now wary of the number of buses slated to come in over the next few weeks. “We do not know the exact number of people we are expecting and when,” said a senior officer requesting anonymity.

The sheer numbers apart, migrant workers have been vocal about the treatment they are receiving at the quarantine centres. “Workers who were distressed at Surat are now creating ruckus over quality of food and accommodation here. Now that they are so close to their villages, most just want to go home,” said an official. At the quarantine centre in Gokarnapur under Digapahandi block, the returnees alleged lack of basic amenities and refused breakfast. They even alleged that incharge Asit Kumar Sahu threatened them of police action. Sahu, on his part, said that the inmates paid no heed to his repeated requests to behave. There were also reports from Purusottampur block that returnees accommodated in the centres are roaming around freely. Over 1500 quarantines centres have been opened in rural areas apart from 100 in urban areas.