VIJAYAWADA: To help migrant workers who are walking hundreds of kilometres on highways to reach their hometowns, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday told officials to resume intra-state bus services for migrants, and let them travel for free. “Wherever you spot migrant workers walking on the roads, shift them into buses and take them to the state borders,” the CM instructed officials.
“If anyone declares themself as a migrant labourer, nobody should insist on ticket fares for their travel,” he said, adding that buses will be run for them for the next 15 days. Jagan further told officials to adopt a humanitarian approach towards the migrants, and give them free food and water. Physical distancing must be maintained when they travel by bus, the CM said.
“Chalk out stringent SOPs for when they are in buses, and limit the number of people in each bus to ensure this facility does not hamper the state’s war against Covid-19,” he told officials.
Following this, Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney told district Collectors and Superintendents of Police, to set up special camps every 20 km on national highways to give food, water and other basic facilities to migrants who are walking or cycling to their hometowns.
“Give priority to migrants from other states and ensure they reach their native places. Divide them state-wise and take steps to shift them to their native places. Migrants within the state should be divided district-wise and taken to their hometowns,” she said. For this, the CS asked the district administrations to arrange buses at all checkposts and shift migrants to their districts.
Highways to get awareness boards for walking migrants
Instructions were also given to the district officials to set up boards in Odiya and Hindi on highways explaining the arrangements made for migrant labourers with respect to Shramik trains, and also food arrangements at relief centres till they board the trains.
Nilam Sawhney said she had spoken with her Odisha counterpart and told the latter that they have identified 2,000 migrant labourers walking on national highways in the past two days and the state government had made arrangements to send them to Odisha in buses and trains. “We are estimating that atleast 5,000 migrants from Odisha are in the State and we are making arrangements to shift them to the neighbouring State in trains, the CS said.
Nilam Sawhney asked police to intensify patrolling on the national highways, identify migrants walking on the roads and facilitate their free travel to their destinations. Director General of Police Gautam Sawang asked police not to behave rudely with the migrants and maintain restraint in dealing with them.