Migrant train from Panvel scrapped as Odisha HC demands Covid certificate

MUMBAI: The issue of migrant evacuation grew more complex after a train slated to leave Panvel with 1,200 migrants for Bhubaneswar on Thursday was called off at the eleventh hour, as the Odisha high court directed that only those who have tested Covid-negative be allowed into the state. The very first shramik special which was to leave Mumbai for Odisha also did not depart, apparently awaiting an NOC from the state. Till now, the Centre has not cleared migrant train departures from Mumbai city.

Meanwhile, following widespread complaints, the Maharashtra government rolled back the demand for medical certificates from migrants who wish to travel to their home states. While relief and rehabilitation minister Vijay Wadettiwar had announced that the government would fund ST buses for intra-state migrants, it has now emerged that the decision is yet to be cleared.
State officials said the Odisha HC order left them with no option but to cancel the Panvel train. "We are not in a position to test lakhs of migrant workers before allowing them to depart to their home states," said a senior Raigad district administration official. A hundred migrant workers, who travelled from Alibag to Raigad by bus, had to return. Others waiting at police stations had to turn back.
The Centre's guidelines do not demand a Covid test on migrants. They only require passengers to be screened to check if they show flu-like or Covid symptoms. Odisha had earlier given the state a blanket approval to evacuate its migrants, with no case-to-case permission required.
The move to scrap the medical certificate norm follows complaints that migrants had to shell out money to doctors and stand in long queues.
Funding of intra-state travel of migrants yet to be cleared
Earlier, migrants seeking to return to their home states needed a certificate from a registered medical practitioner saying they did not have flu-like symptoms. The new rule only requires them to be screened before the journey, free of cost. It says a digital thermometer should be used and symptomatic examination done. Government doctors should be used for this or the BMC should hire a registered medical practitioner.
Although Wadettiwar had said on Wednesday the state would pay Rs 20 crore to fund the intra-state travel of migrants, the proposal is yet to be cleared. “The proposal has been sent to the chief minister’s office for approval,” said state transport minister Anil Parab.
While departures from Mumbai and Panvel did not take place, a shramik train left from Thane for Bapudham Motihari in Bihar. Krishnakant Mishra from Siwan district in Bihar said he had been trying desperately to get home after his mother’s death last month. “I managed to get a seat in the first train that left Thane and can finally go home to my family,” said Mishra who works as a civil engineer in Nahur.
(With inputs by Manoj Badgeri & Manthan K Mehta)