VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday directed officials to provide food, water, and transport to migrant workers who are walking to their hometowns. These migrants will also be counselled at district and state border check posts, and if on a long journey, will be taken to a nearby relief centre and given something to eat and drink.
The focus will be on persuading them to wait till arrangements are made to send them home on Shramik trains. The Chief Minister expressed anguish over the migrants’ plight when officials brought the issue to his notice at a high-level review meeting. He then told them to adopt a humane approach towards the migrants.
Following this, AP Covid-19 Task Force Committee chairman and Principal Secretary (Transport) MT Krishna Babu issued a circular to district Collectors, SPs, police commissioner, and all DMHOs, with directions on how to deal with the walking migrants.
Food counters at every 50 km on highways
Migrants who are on long journeys will be taken to relief centres, and will be given priority when Shramik trains are being arranged. Social Welfare director Harshavardhan Harshavardhan will coordinate with the State Control Room to get the Shramik train schedule and ensure the migrant workers are given priority while boarding. They will be brought to railway stations on APSRTC buses. Officials said those who were travelling on foot were doing so either out of ignorance or because they were unable to wait for the Shramik trains. They said if an organised setup was in place, they could speak to officials of other states and make travel arrangements.
District collectors were told to make arrangements for setting up counters at every 50 km on highways to provide food and water to the migrants. NGOs will be roped in for this. Those who are walking to their hometowns within the state will be taken to a relief centre and sent to their native places on APSRTC buses. “It was suggested that the migrants be dropped at the state border, but the Chief Minister did not agree to this as the migrants would get stranded if the other state did not let them in,” Krishnababu said. It was decided to set up sign posts in different languages asking them not to walk, but avail government transport by going to a nearby relief centre. So far, around 6,000 migrants who were walking to their home states have been shifted to relief centres.