4,000 migrants head home from Bengaluru

Eager to get back to their home states in the backdrop of COVID-19, migrant labourers who descended on Palace Grounds on Saturday were sent home on Sunday.

As many as 4,000 labourers from Bihar and Odisha left Bengaluru on special Shramik trains.

Going by a viral message, over 7,000 labourers had gathered at Palace Grounds on Saturday, making it tough for the police and BBMP officials to control the situation.

Demanding that they all be sent homes, the labourers had camped at the grounds on Saturday night. They were provided with food and water from nearby Indira Canteens.

According to officials, another 2,000 labourers are still camping there and arrangements for their travel are underway.

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Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan interacted with the labourers at the Cantonment Railway Station and distributed food packets and gifted Channapattana toys to the children of the migrant workers. “Till May 31, every day, 10 trains will be operated to various states. All labourers on Shramik express trains will travel free of cost,” he said.

End poverty of migrant workers, urge citizens

Several citizens and civil society organisations have demanded the state government’s immediate intervention to end the hunger and poverty of the migrant workers.

Writing to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, 35 organisations and 192 individuals welcomed the state’s offer to bear the travel cost of migrant workers going back home. The government’s proactive role is critical in addressing humanitarian crises.

"Based on our interactions with workers waiting outside police stations, we can see that there is a lot of confusion causing anxiety and panic," they said.

The workers have been asked to register at Seva Sindhu, the destination state and the police without knowing if or when they would get to travel home. "This is a major reason why every day thousands are on the highway, with children, walking and taking extremely unsafe transport, sometimes leading to fatal accidents," they said.

They said the government should set up a clear communication system and streamline the process for interstate travel for the workers. They asked the government to “send empty buses to pick up those already walking. Arrange free and safe transportation from Bengaluru and other cities,” they urged.