More than 800 migrants from Bihar, including women and children, were left stranded at Tau Devi Lal Stadium here on Monday after they could not be accommodated in a Shramik Special Train.
Blaming lack of “coordination” between government agencies, Gurugram Nagrik Ekta Manch member Capt. (retd.) Rupinder Kaur said that a special train was scheduled to leave from Gurugram on Monday and migrants from four districts had come to the stadium on buses.
The train, the administration said, was to carry migrants from Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha. “But the administration realised that the number of migrants from Bihar was swelling and stopped entry to them. As many as 17 buses, including 11 from Rewari, carrying migrants from Bihar were then sent back after they were made to wait for hours,” said Ms. Kaur.
The workers from Bihar who were not sent back were left stranded at the stadium as the train was filled up with people from the other three States.
Ms. Kaur said that arrangements were made to provide food to workers at the stadium, but the way the administration “mismanaged” the entire process showed lack of co-ordination between its agencies and callousness towards workers.
She also pointed out that the Haryana government had been claiming that all migrants from Bihar were sent back when the situation on the ground was different.
Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Sohna) Chinar Chahal told The Hindu she had made arrangements for the stranded workers to be sent to Bihar in buses. She added that health check-ups are being done and all workers will be sent in buses soon.
She refused to comment on the alleged “mismanagement” saying that she was responsible only for arranging buses. Sub-Divisonal Magistrate (Badshahpur) Jitender, did not pick up the phone despite repeated attempts.
