Bhubaneswar: With Odisha migrants returning in thousands, the measures of the State Government for their safe travel and comfortable stay seem to have gone for a toss as was experienced by 12 workers from Bhadrak and Jajpur districts on Tuesday.
Narrating their ordeal to the mediapersons, a Surat returnee belonging to Jajpur district said, “Total 60 workers including five from Jajpur, 7 from Bhadrak and 48 from Puri had left Surat on May 2. Instead of taking us to Jajpur, the bus staff dropped us at Kalpana Square in the morning and left for Puri.”
With no vehicles around and nobody to turn to for help after failing to get any response from helpline numbers 104 and 100, they planned to walk home. Meanwhile, the seven returnees from Bhadrak left the place without informing the rest.
Unfortunately, the police deployed at major junctions in the City were also of no help. When some policemen told them to go to Master Canteen Square, another police team directed them to head for Vani Vihar.
Though two police vans enquired about them at Vani Vihar square, they failed to make any arrangement for their journey home. Instead, the cops instructed them to return to Master Canteen. But to their misery, they had to walk to Master Canteen, back to Vani Vihar and then to Rasulgarh on the direction of police.
Asked whether they had informed the Jajpur Collector about their plight, the migrant worker said the latter expressed his helplessness.
“As we have returned from Surat, we want to stay in government quarantine centre either at Chhatia or any nearby area. But the district administration is not taking any step in this regard,” he added.
Finally, they managed to get a mini-truck and left for Jajpur.
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