E-Paper
Railway police in Ludhiana agitated as migrants continue trespassing tracks
Even though regular checks are conducted by police personnel on the 20km-long stretch of railway line from Phillaur to Dhandari Kalan in Ludhiana, migrant labourers are found sitting and often trespassing the tracks
Keeping migrants away from railway tracks is one of the most difficult tasks for the railway police personnel in Ludhiana these days. Even though regular checks are conducted on the 20km-long stretch of railway line from Phillaur to Dhandari Kalan in Ludhiana, migrant labourers are found sitting on and crossing the tracks.
On Sunday afternoon at around 3pm, over a dozen labourers were found sitting along the railway lines, taking refuge from the hot sun under the railway over bridge near the Dholewal Chowk.
Meanwhile, a few workers were also found running temporary stalls along the tracks under the bridge. Some of these migrants were rickshaw pullers who did not have rooms and spent their nights either sleeping on the roadside or on their vehicles. Other migrants were daily wagers residing in labour quarters located alongside the tracks.
One of the migrant labourers who resided in the labour quarters, Jugal Kumar, said, “We feel very congested inside the quarters, which is why we come out and sit either along the roadside or on the tracks in the shade to get a breath of fresh air.”
Kumar said that he had applied to return to his village in Lucknow and was waiting for his turn to board the train. “The factories are closed and we have been out of work for the last one month,” he said, adding, “We cannot sit idle for so long within a small room.”
A daily wager Yamuna said, “Sometimes, some people come to distribute langar here at the Dholewal Chowk. We visit the area in afternoon and also in the evening in a hope of getting some food.”
However, after alerting the railway police official, sub-inspector Balvir Singh, station house officer (SHO), Government Railway Police (GRP), along with his team and two railway protection force personnel, reached the spot. On seeing the police, the migrants dispersed and fled from the tracks.
SHO Singh said that the police teams were making rounds of the area. “As soon as the migrants see the police, they leave only to come back later after the personnel have left,” he said.
He further said that the police are trying to curb the menace, however, it is not easy. “It is not possible to deploy so many police personnel on the 20km long track. At present, a number of GRP personnel are already deployed at the railway station to maintain law and order as a huge number of migrants are availing the facility of Shramik Special trains,” he added.
Meanwhile, a few police personnel, on the condition of anonymity, said that nothing will change the situation. They said, “On regular days when hundreds of trains were running every day, the migrants still trespassed the tracks,” while questioning, “How we can expect these migrants to change their habits now when only a limited number of trains are running.”
