The West Bengal government will bear the entire cost of movement of the State’s migrant workers by special trains to enable their return from other States, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday. Ms. Banerjee shared on social media a letter from the State’s Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha to the Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav requesting that instructions be issued to railways’ officials that no costs should be claimed from those boarding the Shramik Special trains.
“Saluting the toil faced by our migrant brethren, I am pleased to announce the decision of GoWB to bear the entire cost of movement for our migrant workers by special trains from other States to West Bengal. No migrant will be charged. Letter to Rly Board attached,” Ms. Banerjee poster on Twitter.
Earlier on Saturday, the State government announced a compensation of ₹2 lakh to the families of migrant workers from Purulia district who had lost their lives in Uttar Pradesh’s Auraiya district. According to the State’s Home Department three to four persons from Purulia had died in Auraiya.
17 lakh stranded
Giving details of the residents from West Bengal who are stranded in other States, West Bengal Home Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay said that the State government had prepared a database of about 17 lakh people from the State who were stranded across the country. Mr. Bandyopadhyay said that the database included migrant workers, students, tourists and pilgrims. The Home Secretary added that about 2.9 lakh people had sought help in the form of transport facilities to return to the State.
The State government has announced that it will facilitate 105 trains between May 17 and June 15. Mr. Bandyopadhyay said that these trains would operate from 16 States. Kerala has the highest number — 28 trains, followed by Maharashtra from where 18 trains would originate. Ten trains would bring those stranded in Tamil Nadu.
First international flight on May 18
The State government has written to the Centre informing it about the quarantine centres and the hotels where those returning from abroad could stay, the Home Secretary said.
“We think and hope the queries of Ministry of External Affairs/ Civil Aviation have thus been settled. We hope that our boys and girls stranded in other countries can now come back without any hitch,” Mr. Bandyopadhyay said.
The Home Secretary informed that the first international flight from Bangladesh was scheduled to arrive in Kolkata on May 18.
