Having sent about 6,600 migrant labourers to their native places, mainly to North Karnataka, since a week, the Dakshina Kannada district administration may have to handle another about 5,000 migrant workers from outside the State.
Following the State government’s order to arrange buses for migrant workers from within the State desirous of returning to their native places, the administration had arranged around 230 KSRTC buses for their journey back home.
Dakshina Kannada Labour Officer Wilma Tauro said there were about 3,600 migrant workers of the State in Mangaluru City Corporation limits. Majority of them have gone back. Tahsildars of respective taluks outside MCC limits have arranged transport to another 3,500 workers, she said.
KSRTC Mangaluru Division's traffic officer Kamal Kumar said the division operated 142 buses to ferry migrants mainly to destinations in North Karnataka. Corporation’s Puttur Division had arranged 92 buses, said DTO Muralidhar.
The government was holding a high-level meeting in Bengaluru on Friday to devise a standard operating procedure to send desirous migrant workers from outside Karnataka to their respective States.
Deputy Chief Minister in-charge of Transport Department Laxman Savadi on Friday held a video conference with senior officials and Divisional Controllers of State transport corporations to chalk out modalities of transporting migrant workers from other States to their native places. Once the government decides the modality, RTCs would be tasked to ferry them, sources said.
