Odisha to pay Rs 5.5 crore to railways for migrant trains

BHUBANESWAR: The state government has started the process of sanctioning Rs 5.5 crore to the Indian Railways towards the transport expenditure of migrant workers.
Commerce and transport minister Padmanabh Behera said, "Our government has decided to bear the cost of the train tickets of the migrant labourers who are returning home. The money will be spent from the chief minister's relief fund. The migrant workers will get the benefit of this initiative."
A large number of labourers have been returning to Odisha in shramik special trains from across the country. "In case the sending state does not bear the cost of the train tickets for the labourers, the Odisha government will bear the cost of the train tickets of the labourers," said an official statement.
Sources said the cost of train tickets will be adjusted with the quarantine incentive of the returnees. The government has declared to provide Rs 2,000 as incentive to a returnee if they successfully complete the quarantine period.
It is seen that Odia migrant workers were paying the cost of train tickets. The issue related to paying the ticket prices had created a controversy. The Centre had clarified that 85% of the transportation cost is borne by the Railways, while states have to bear 15% of the cost. So far, about 73 Shramik Special trains carrying around 85,000 migrant people have reached Odisha. Two trains reached the state on Saturday. One train came from Hosur Road in Karnataka and halted at Khurda Road.