Facing flak over cancellation of trains to other States, Karnataka government has done a U-turn and has decided to restart trains for migrant workers from Friday.
A decision was taken by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Thursday morning, sources in the government said. The decision came following outrage by political opposition, workers’ organisations and internal assessment by the Home Department that labour unrest may go out of hand if trains are not restarted. The decision to cancel trains after a meeting with top builders of the city, was also seen as bad optics for the government.
N. Manjunath Prasad, nodal officer for inter-state travel, has written to the Railways seeking a total of 13 trains to various States from May 8 to May 15.
The Seva Sindhu platform has 2.13 lakh persons registered to go out of the State, of which just over 8,000 had left on eight trains. With each train able to carry 1,021 passengers due to social distancing, the 13 trains now requisitioned will be able to carry another 13,000 persons, still leaving behind lakhs of migrants with no reliable transport.
“The State government is ready to run as many trains as needed for anyone who wants to leave go. But trains can be organised only after the receiving State consents, which is not easy to come by. There are logistics issues in these States due to return of so many migrants. We will strive to organise more trains," Mr. Manjunath Prasad said.