Go the whole hog to help migrants, CM tells officials

‘This is the time to show sympathy; there should not be dearth of facilities for them’

Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has asked officials to extend all help to the migrant workers on humanitarian grounds.

Speaking to the officials over telephone on Sunday, the Chief Minister said, “There should not be any dearth of facilities and food to the workers who are walking to their native places. This is the time to show sympathy and help them generously. Don’t step back on expenditure involved.”

Relief centres

He further asked officials to arrange buses for the workers walking on the highway and shift them to the nearest relief centre.

Responding, the officials told Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy that 4,661 migrant workers were stopped at various check-posts and shifted to 62 relief centres in the last three days. Of them, 485 were heading to various districts in the State. The remaining were walking their way to States such as Odisha, Bihar. U.P., Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh.

Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney spoke to her Odisha counterpart on the issue, following which the neighbouring State agreed to receive the migrant workers from that State at Ganjam with prior intimation.

Following the agreement, 902 Odisha workers – 470 from Prakasam, 410 from Krishna and 22 from Srikakulam districts were sent to that State on Saturday night. Another 450 workers from Guntur district would be sent on Sunday.

Already, 31 Shramik Specials are being operated from A.P. to ferry 39,000 people to various destinations. The break-up of the trains is as follows – 9 for Bihar; 5 for Odisha; 4 each for U.P., Jharkhand and Rajasthan; 3 for Maharashtra; and one each for Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Another 22 trains are being planned during this week to ferry 33,000 people. Officials are pursuing the issue of obtaining NoCs from the receiving States.

Food counters

The officials said that all the police check-posts were provided with staff from the Revenue Department to counsel the workers to visit the relief centres with a promise to send them by the special trains.

The officials also said that 79 food counters were set up along the national highway passing by the check-posts to provide the workers food and water.

The district Collectors were asked to put banners on the highway in Odiya and Hindi explaining the arrangements made for the migrant workers walking their way back home.

Once they reach the relief centres, instructions have been issued to send those belonging to A.P. to their native districts by APSRTC buses free of cost. Similarly, those from other States will be sent by the special trains.