CM keeps her promise, stranded migrant workers to return home

MP | 3 May 2020 | Kolkata: Keeping her promise as always, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has ensured the safe return of people from Bengal stranded in other states as 2,500 people including migrant workers are set to start their journey from Rajasthan and Kerala on Monday aboard two special trains. 

The announcement, giving a sigh of relief to thousands of people, came with the tweet of the Chief Minister on Sunday evening in which she stated: "As a part of our promise to bring back citizens of Bengal stranded in other states, two special trains from Ajmer and Kerala would leave tomorrow for West Bengal carrying more than 2,500 migrant labourers, pilgrims, students and patients." 

In the same tweet, Banerjee also stated that all lockdown protocols will be followed while bringing them back. She stated: "Everyone coming in to be screened as per protocols." 

The step to extend all sorts of support to bring stranded people back to the state has been taken up when as many as 41 people tested positive to COVID-19 in the past 24 hours and two more persons died due to the disease taking the total death toll in the state to 50. As many as 22,915 samples have been tested to date and it includes 1939 tests that were conducted in the past 24 hours. 

One of the two special trains with 1,200 stranded people will leave Ajmer in Rajasthan while the other is from Kerala. Both the trains will start their journey on Monday. The train from Rajasthan will reach Bengal on May 5. 

There was discussion over the issue of bringing back migrant workers during the video conference between the Union Cabinet Secretary and the state Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha on Sunday afternoon. The necessity of proper coordination between two states between which migrant labourers would move was mentioned during the video conference. 

Subsequently, Bengal and Rajasthan governments worked mutually for the safe return of stranded people that include pilgrims and tourists as well. In its letter to the Chief Secretary of Rajasthan government, Bengal Home Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay has stated that the train should leave Ajmer in such a time that it reaches West Bengal during day time preferably so that necessary arrangements for their health screening can be carried out properly. It has also been requested to give two stoppages at Durgapur and Dankuni as the state government will be arranging buses to help them reach their respective destinations in the state. 

Similarly, the state government has also coordinated with Kerala government and asked it to provide details of the passengers so that a proper plan of action that includes stoppages of the train can be planned. 

Meanwhile, the state government has helped around 1,000 migrant labourers from Rajasthan, who were stuck in Bengal to return to their state in the 95 buses in which 2,368 students had returned from Kota in Rajasthan. On the humanitarian ground, Bengal government brought back the students from Kota by spending around Rs 5 crore. 

This comes when Banerjee's government has also ensured all support to migrant labourers from other states who are stranded in Bengal by setting up 711 camps. 

(Courtesy & Source : http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/cm-keeps-her-promise-stranded-migrant-workers-to-return-home-408253)