The life of migrants across all over the country is miserable even after the lockdown has been uplifted. Around 8, 53,777 migrants have returned to Odisha after the lockdown’s relaxation due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Susanta Singh, Labour, and Employee State Minister, informed the data in a written reply during the ongoing monsoon session of Odisha Assembly. The State Government makes even a compulsory rule that every returnee to the State has to register. While answering the Congress MLA Santosh Singh Saluja, the maximum Odia migrants have returned from the States of Tamil Nandu, Gujurat, and Kerela on 277 special Shramik trains. The State Government has paid an amount of 9 crores to the East Coast Railway (ECoR) for the migrants’ transportation cost. Reportedly the money was sanctioned from the CM’s relief fund. Earlier also, the government declared that the State would bear all the transport expenses of the return migrant workers by Sharmik Special trains.
However, Susanta Singh says that after the unlock process began, the State Government has no official data on the number of migrants who have returned to the workplace.
According to the officials, the highest number of migrants came from Gujurat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharastra, Kerela, and Andhra Pradesh, but no official data is available of the return from the states as mentioned above.
– The Minister stated that they are trying to ascertain the number of migrant workers block-wise. He further informed that two migrant workers had lost their lives while on their way to Odisha during the lockdown. During the lockdown, all the transportation services were stopped, announced on March 24, so many Odia migrant workers returned to the State faced many difficulties, and among them, two lost their lives on the way home. Even financial compensation extended to the families of the deceased, and the information is collected.
The Minister also informed that the concerned department is collecting the ex gratia amount paid to them. Out of 8.53 Lakh, migrants returned to Odisha, over 4 Lakh people believed to have returned only to Ganjam.
Article Written by Dikhya Mohanty
Image Source: Google
