No Free Rail Tickets For Migrant Workers Arriving In Odisha Without Prior Information: Govt

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Sunday requested migrant Odia workers to provide details before leaving for their destinations from others states where they are stranded.

Briefing the mediapersons here, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Pradeep Jena said the state government was able to get the details of the migrant Odia workers through their early registration earlier and allowed them into the state.

The Centre had earlier allowed plying of Shramik Special trains for migrant workers and the states from where these trains were scheduled to depart, used to inform the Odisha government about the arrival time of these trains, he said.

“Since that the Centre has now decided to run more Shramik Special trains without any prior information and without the consent of the state government, it will be difficult for the government to know the exact number of the migrant workers returning to the state,” he said.

Though the government had information that about 20,000 migrant Odia workers would be reaching Odisha in 12 Shramik Special trains from Telangana on Sunday, the details and destinations of these passengers are not known, he said.

“This will make COVID-19 management in the state difficult. We, therefore, request the migrant workers to provide details regarding the train they have boarded and the time and place of their arrival so that necessary arrangements to send them to their respective destinations, are made accordingly,” he added.

Stating that the state government had provided Rs 5.5 crore to the Railways as ticket fare of the migrant workers, the SRC said those arriving in Odisha without prior information, will not be able to avail the free ticket facility.

The SRC also requested the Railways to provide the details of the migrant workers and the place of the stoppage of the trains in Odisha before departure.

He also urged the people of Odisha to cooperate with the state government as responsible citizens by giving details about the migrant workers once they arrive at their place. “We request the people in the rural areas to immediately inform their sarpanch and the urban people to inform the civic body authorities after the arrival of the migrant workers,” he added.

The SRC also requested the Odia societies in other states to provide the details of the migrant workers prior to their arrival in their home state.