The joy of about 400 migrant workers from Odisha knew no bounds while boarding special buses at Tirupati on Saturday, as they headed to Chittoor to take a special train to Bhubaneshwar. But their happiness was short-lived as the railway officials temporarily cancelled the special trains to Odisha and Uttar Pradesh following changes in services after the LG Polymers gas leak tragedy in Vishakapatnam.
The revenue officials of Tirupati urban limits mustered about 400 Odisha-bound migrant workers from Tirupati and surrounding areas after announcement of the schedule for special train from Chittoor on Saturday. Of the 400 workers, 109 were already given shelter at a Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams-run choultry behind Tirupati railway station.
Special shelters
All the workers were given sumptuous breakfast and lunch packets before they boarded the special buses to Chittoor railway station at noon. However, the special buses instead of ferrying them to the railway station, took them to the special shelters at SITAMS Engineering |College on the outskirts of Chittoor and the accommodation block at Kanipakam nearby.
Tahsildar (Tirupati Urban) Venkata Ramana told The Hindu that as per schedule, the migrant workers were made to gather in Tirupati to board special buses to Chittoor. “As we received information that the railway authorities have temporarily cancelled the special train, we shifted the workers to the two shelters in Chittoor. As and when the railways reschedule the specials, the workers will be sent back,” he said.
Workers from U.P.
The official said that arrangements were also made to transport about 500 migrant workers to Uttar Pradesh, but the expected special train was also cancelled. “We have close to 1,000 U.P.-based migrant workers in and around Tirupati alone, being sheltered at various localities here,” he said.
On Thursday night, a special train, carrying about 1,200 migrant workers and 242 students of Sainik School (Kalikiri), left for Bihar from Chittoor.
Meanwhile, a group of 40 migrant workers from Odisha on Saturday approached the Tahsildar office at Baireddipalle mandal, seeking their transportation to Bhubhaneshwar. The workers engaged with power cable works by a Bengaluru based firm were stranded in Baireddipalle owing to the lockdown.
