KANNUR: Around 200 migrant workers from Valapatanam, who tried to return to their home state of Uttar Pradesh, were stopped by Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel at Kannur railway station on Tuesday. The labourers said they were not being treated well by the authorities and were also facing eviction from the houses where they are staying.The incident occurred around 7am when the workers reached the railway station on foot after receiving fake news that a train was scheduled to depart to UP on Tuesday.
When they were stopped, the workers staged a sit-in on the stateion’s premises, demanding the government officials to facilitate their journey back home. Soon, police personnel led by DySP P P Sadanandan, Town CI Pradeepan Kannippoyil, RPF, Revenue and Labour Department officials intervened.
“It’s the states concerned which should demand the train so that their residents stranded in other states can be sent back,” said Baby Castro, district labour officer. “We assured them that they would be sent to their state as early as possible,” said V M Sajeevan, tahsildar. The workers later ended the protest and agreed to go back to Valapatanam. “There are 189 migrant workers at Valapatanam who are waiting to go back to UP,” said N Sreejith, Valapatanam panchayat secretary.