K'taka govt cancels spcl trains for migrants, oppn asks 'are they bonded labourers'?

The migrant workers are stuck in various parts of the country due to the ongoing anti-Coronavirus lockdown which began on Mar 25.

Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Wednesday said the travel of the migrant workers has to be controlled as the business, construction work and industrial activities have resumed in all parts of the southern state barring red zones where maximum Covid-19 cases have been reported.

The State has already asked the Railways to cancel all trains which were scheduled on Wednesday.

"We have sent around one lakh people in 3,500 buses and trains back to their home towns. I have also appealed to migrant workers to stay as the construction work has resumed now," Chief Minister Yediyurappa told reporters on Wednesday.

He informed that a Rs 1,600 crore relief package has been released for those in distress because of the lockdown, including construction workers.

"Registered" construction workers including migrants will receive Rs 3,000 in addition to the Rs 2,000 they received earlier, he added.

The opposition Congress has criticised the move of train cancellation claiming that it is up to the migrant workers to decide whether they want to go home or stay back for work.

"The decision to go back or to stay back should be with the labourers & not with the government. Labourers are free to choose health or work. Who will take responsibility if something goes wrong? Are we still practicing bonded labour? For me #MigrantLivesMatter!!" Congress leader Siddaramaiah said.

He urged the state government to arrange for special trains to ferry the migrants back to their hometown.

"Had the interests of labourers been taken care by the concerned stakeholders, migrants may have stayed back. Even govt did little to address their concerns.
I strongly urge @CMofKarnataka to arrange trains for those migrants who wish to go back.#MigrantLivesMatter," his tweet read.

The Karnataka government had requested for two trains to take back the stranded migrant workers to their home states for five days from May 2 except on Wednesday when three trains were arranged.

According to media reports, the migrant workers had to pay between Rs. 800 and Rs. 1200 per ticket depending on their destinations to head back to their homes.

Earlier the central government had received flak from the opposition party Congress for allegedly not providing free ride to the stranded people but the Centre later issued a clarification saying it will pay 85 per cent of the ticket prices while the respective states will have to bear the remaining 15 per cent.

Slamming the Karnataka government for cancelling the trains, political activist Yogendra Yadav tweeted, "There should not be any doubt anymore. Charging 'normal' fare and cutting down on shramik trains is not a bad bureaucratic decision. This is a political decision to keep migrant workers hostage."