The government on Friday told the Supreme Court that not a single migrant worker died in Shramik trains due to lack of food, water or medication. Their deaths were really due to “earlier illnesses”.
In turn, a three-judge Bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan asked the government to complete the transportation of migrant workers, whether by rail or road, in the next 15 days. It said the exodus cannot continue indefinitely.
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The court was hearing a suo motu case on the migrant workers' crisis . It reserved the case for final orders to be pronounced on June 9.
Explaining reports about deaths in Shramik special trains, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta briefed the court that “an enquiry found that no deaths were caused by lack of food, water or medication... The people who died had some earlier illnesses. Railways has the details. People who showed signs of illness were shifted to the nearest hospitals”.
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No official number
Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi said news reports show a total of 80 individuals lost their lives while travelling on the Shramik Special trains. However, no official number has been released till date. Further, media reports again say a total of 644 migrant labourers died in the lockdown. “Absence of data on the actual number of migrant labourers aggravates these calamities by leaving the administering agencies, under-prepared to deal with the challenges,” Mr. Singhvi argued.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal said the government has not yet revealed the “minimum standards” of hygiene, food and water quality it had mandated in relief camps, etc.
Also read: Coronavirus lockdown | 26 lakh migrant workers in halfway houses, says official data
But Mr. Mehta said the "substantial part of the ordeal is over". Approximately a crore of migrant workers have "reached their destinations", he said.
"Now we will provide trains to any State who wants them," Mr. Mehta assured the court.
The Centre has been running the Shramik trains from May 1 to transport stranded migrant workers during the national lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Railways have run 4,228 trains to transport stranded migrant workers till June 3.
Also read: Coronavirus lockdown | Don’t charge migrant workers bus or train fare, says Supreme Court
He said the Railways ran an average 250 trains a day for the workers. Tamil Nadu had wanted 26 trains while Kerala asked for 66. Maharashtra asked for a 800-odd trains.
A three-judge Bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan said the transportation of migrant workers back to their villages should be over in the next 15 days. It reserved final orders in the suo motu case for June 9.
Noting that approximately a crore migrant workers have “reached their destinations”, Mr. Mehta said, “We will provide trains to any State who wants them”. He said the Railways was running 250 trains a day. Tamil Nadu had wanted 26 trains while Kerala asked for 66. Maharashtra had used 800-odd trains.
Onus on States
Justice Bhushan said the court would pass directions to States to conduct fool-proof registration of workers who have reached home. The onus is on the respective State governments to launch employment schemes and assimilate the workers who have returned from other States, he said. Information about the migrant workers should be gathered at village, block and district levels. States should arrange proper counselling sessions for them to put them back on their feet.
“It is in your hands to take care of them,” Justice Bhushan addressed the States.
Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, for Bihar, which has seen a large influx of workers, said it has already mapped their skill-sets in order to tailor employment schemes for them.
Mr. Mehta said the current quarantining system conducted by States is effective in stopping the spread of the virus. “Please do not touch the existing system of quarantining. They are very crucial in preventing the infection from spreading,” he addressed the court.
171 more trains needed to transport migrant workers
- Uttar Pradesh: 21.69 lakh migrant workers have returned. 1.03 lakh have left the State
- Bihar: 28 lakh workers have returned. Employment skill mapping done for 10 lakh of these workers
- Gujarat: 20 lakh migrant workers transported. 2.5 lakh decided to stay back to work
- Maharashtra: 38000 workers remain
Published - June 05, 2020 07:06 pm IST
