After Yediyurappa's meeting with builders, Karnataka cancels trains for migrant workers

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

Yediyurappa 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.

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."

(Image Credit: IBNS File)