Will transport migrants, SCR official assures Telangana HC
HYDERABAD: In a huge relief to the stranded migrant workers, the South Central Railway, Secunderabad, on Tuesday assured the court that it is ready to transport the workers to their native State by providing them seats under emergency quota (EQ) every day. Accordingly, 45 migrants from Bihar will be transported to their native State on Wednesday.
The SCR Divisional Railway Manager Anand Bhatia appeared before the division bench of High Court comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy dealing with batch PILs filed seeking direction to Telangana government to shift thousands of labour working in 810 registered brick kilns spread across various the State, and, another PIL against the action of the police in forcibly transporting people belonging to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand from various points in the city to Telangana-Maharashtra border at Bhoraj check-post in Adilabad.
Replying to a query from the bench, DRM Bhatia submitted that every passenger train has a maximum of 24 bogies, and some of the trains have only 18 bogies.
Addition of bogies to such trains will have technical and safety issues. As for Danapur and Howrah trains, they are running to full capacity with 24 bogies every day to Patna.
However, the railways is ready to provide 34 seats in sleeper class and 11 seats in AC class under the emergency quota, if there is a need, he added. After hearing the above submissions, the bench directed both the State government and the SCR to coordinate and continue the said facility till all the stranded workers reach their respective destinations. The bench posted the matter to June 26 for further hearing.