5 special trains to Bihar from Kerala

Chaos in Telangana over e-passes; Karnataka operates free buses to districts

04/05/2020, STAFF REPORTER,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

On their way: Migrant workers boarding buses at the Majestic bus station in Bengaluru on Sunday. K. Murali Kumar K. Murali Kumar

While there was chaos in Telangana on Sunday over e-passes for migrant workers, the Karnataka government operated free buses, and in Kerala, five Shramik Special trains to Bihar were pressed into service.

In Telangana, hours after Director-General of Police M. Mahender Reddy announced an e-pass initiative to help the stranded return to their States, the Tolichowki area near Hyderabad saw a large number of migrant workers coming onto the roads seeking travel permission.

The workers were not able to get any such immediate permission for inter-State travel since they did not have private transport. They demanded that the government make arrangements to send them back to their native places.

Police officials reached the area and pacified them, promising food and other help as long as they were in Telangana.

Most of the migrant workers were from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.

The Railways operated five ‘Shramik Special’ trains from Kerala to Bihar on Sunday to facilitate the return of migrant workers. One train each was operated from Kozhikode, Thrissur, and Kannur, and two from Ernakulam. The two trains from Ernakulam had a total of 2,201 workers from Bihar. The train bound for Barauni left at 3 p.m., carrying 1,140 passengers, while the Muzaffarpur-bound train left at 6.30 p.m, with 1,061 people, said Ernakulam Deputy Commissioner of Police G. Poonguzhali.

Checking at camps

“Ten teams, comprising officials of health, labour, police and revenue departments, visited workers’ camps, registered them online and conducted health check-up there itself. The shortlisted people were brought to the Ernakulam Junction railway station on KSRTC buses, accompanied by police personnel,” Ms. Poonguzhali said.

500 buses

After facing flak for charging exorbitant fares to transport stranded migrants in Bengaluru, the Karnataka government started ferrying migrants to their respective districts without any fare from Sunday morning. This service will be available till Tuesday from the BMTC and KSRTC bus stands in Majestic. On Sunday, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) operated around 500 buses from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. with around 15,000 people travelling to over 45 destinations across the State, sources said. From Tuesday, buses will ply from 7 a.m. in the morning.

Thousands of people, including migrant workers, students and others thronged the BMTC bus stand in Majestic on Sunday, immediately after the State government announced that it would ferry stranded migrants to their respective districts without any fare.

(With inputs from Hyderabad and Bengaluru bureaus)