Governments pass the buck, migrants suffer

Migrants waiting to reach home had to bear the brunt of the blame game between the state and Central governments over arrangements for Shramik trains. While thousands

Migrants waiting to reach home had to bear the brunt of the blame game between the state and Central governments over arrangements for Shramik trains. While thousands of migrant workers waited outside various railway stations starting from Tuesday evening in the hope for trains, the ones who managed to board stayed without food or water.

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Railways minister Piyush Goyal lashed out at the state on Tuesday, accusing the Maharashtra government of not being able to run trains for lack of administrative arrangement, despite the state notifying 147 trains. He said the state had failed to help the migrants reach the stations and provide actual lists of their names.

Minorities development minister Nawab Malik on Wednesday retorted saying: “They had notified 49 trains for Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, while the divisional railway manager told us that they cannot run more than 16 trains in a day. We had mobilised thousands of migrants at LTT. Thirty-five trains were released after we forced the railway administration in Mumbai. The minister is just blaming us to defame us, but he should first take reports from his regional offices.”

The migrant workers along with their families in the city were seen waiting in queues outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), Vasai and Thane railway stations on Tuesday after the Railways announced operation of 145 Shramik trains . The Railways, however, operated close to 53 trains by midnight, citing fewer passenger arrivals.

Migrants who were stranded outside railway stations in the city took to social media to complain. “@PiyushGoyal respected sir. I am stranded in Mumbai, Vasai. Yesterday the administration called us for a train. Today we went to their station and now the official told us that there were no trains. This is the second time they did it to us,” tweeted @Nandini16878608.

The workers who managed to board the Shramik trains also stated that no food or water was provided to them. “We boarded the train from LTT station on Tuesday night and are going towards Azamgarh railway station. No food or water provided to us. We are a family of 12. I tweeted about the non-availability of water. At Itarsi railway station on Wednesday afternoon, khichdi and water bottles were given to us. However after that no food or water was provided. We have now reached Jhansi,” said Rajkamal who worked as a computer engineer in Kurla.

“We were ready to operate 145 trains and had the trains planned. There was a delay in passenger arrival to railway stations which resulted in crowding outside railway stations. Trains were operated late night on Tuesday to accommodate passengers,” said a railway official who did not want to be named.

On Wednesday, the Railways, including Central, Western, Konkan and South Central railway divisions, operated 40 Shramik trains from Maharashtra. The trains were operated to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Kerala.

Transport minister and Shiv Sena leader Anil Parab said the state government had demanded 178 trains over the period of next one week, but it doesn’t mean the railways should send them all on a single day.

Home minister Anil Deshmukh alleged on Tuesday night that the ministry sent 34 Shramik trains to Maharashtra to ferry migrants to West Bengal, despite the West Bengal government requesting not to do so till May 26 in the wake of Cyclone Amphan. “WB chief secretary Rajiv Sinha had written such a letter to the Rail Ministry on May 22, despite which 34 trains were sent to Maharashtra. Now, Goyal is blaming Maharashtra for not departing the railways notified to originate from our state,” he said.