KOLKATA: The West Bengal government expressed its concern over the huge volume of outbound migrants labourer who returned to their home districts since the outbreak of coronavirus. The districts known for supplying labourers in other states are under the government’s scanner and the local administrations have been asked to identify the migrant labourers.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in an all-party meeting on Monday, expressed her concern saying two special trains arrived the Kolkata with thousands of migrant labourers. “Till Sunday, we quarantined more than 900 labourers who returned from other states. Today, the number rose to 4,000,’’ she said.Health department officials said there are a large number of labourers who returned from other states are yet to be identified.
On Saturday, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the railways was not ensuring proper screening of passengers entering the state through long-distance trains. She said migrant labourers from the states, particularly those in Maharashtra, were being packed off in trains and sent back without medical checkups.