NEW DELHI: A day after special trains were allowed to transport stranded migrants to their home states, confusion and chaos reigned in many cities. In Bengaluru, hundreds of migrant labourers started arriving at the Majestic inter-state bus terminal and the city’s railway stations, hoping to head back home According to a state government directive, those who want to leave should submit an online application but it seemed many were unaware of the procedures.
In Chennai, hundreds of migrants took to the streets on Saturday demanding unpaid wages be paid and they be sent home. In Telangana, which operated a train with 1,225 labourers to Jharkhand on Friday, there was not much movement on the ground on Saturday. Kerala, which arranged a special train to Odisha on Friday, operated five trains on Saturday to transport 6,000 migrant labourers. Ernakulam district labour officer VB Biju said the entire process was micromanaged by all departments concerned.
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Many more are keen to go back to their states but delay in obtaining NOC from the respective state governments now pose a hurdle.
“These trains can start from here only after obtaining NOC from the destination states. Delay in getting NOC from some states have been creating difficulties,” said Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. Jharkhand, which received the first batch of migrants from Telangana on Friday, announced two more trains from Kota will be reaching Ranchi and Dhanbad on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, with students. UP has so far brought over 12,000 migrant workers from neighbouring Haryana and 6,600 from Madhya Pradesh.