‘Free bus service’ offers take migrants for a ride, Bihar minister vows action

PATNA

PATNA

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Hours after the Noida police Friday arrested two persons and impounded two privately-run buses for duping migrants returning to their homes in Bihar, the state government said it would take up the issue at an “appropriate level” and made it clear it was running no such buses of its own.

One such racket was busted in Noida on Friday, wherein migrants were lured in the name of free bus service organized by the Bihar government for migrant workers stranded in Delhi-NCR (national capital region) during the lockdown but were charged Rs 3000 per person.

Bihar’s information and public relations minister Neeraj Kumar said the government had resisted bringing its own people by buses, as it could lead to serious trouble in the absence of total disregard to social distancing, and waited till special train services were started by the Centre at the government’s request.

“Strong action should be taken against the bus owners and operators. It is not as simple as it looks. There could be some hidden agenda behind it. How do these unscrupulous elements inform prospective passengers about such buses operating around midnight? Our government will certainly take cognizance of such things and take it up at the appropriate level,” he said.

Earlier also, there had been reports of private bus services charging three times the normal fare from already harassed migrants in other states. Many passengers had complained about it when they were dropped at Bihar borders a couple of weeks ago from different places.

Meanwhile, stranded migrant workers also complained about of lack of information.

Vikas Ram, Md Qudus Ansari and around 20 others are desperate to head home in Bihar and Jharkhand from Aurangabad in Maharasthra, but don’t know how. They are making frantic calls to whatever number they get in the hope of help.

“We worked at a welding work in a factory here, but everything is closed now. There is no point staying here, as we cannot sustain,” Ansari, not sure how he would reach Banka district in Bihar, said on phone.

“We got ourselves medically examined and we have certificates. We went to the local police station, but they said we should get registered online. We don’t know how to do it online. There is nobody helping us,” he said.

Ram form Jharkhand said they would take a bus about which someone informed them. “Regarding train, we are not aware. Which bus service we would take, we still don’t know.”