Will take years to transport migrants by buses: Congress

Congress’s reaction came aday after the Union government released guidelines for transporting workers, students and others who are stuck away from their home states because of the lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease.

The Congress on Friday lashed out at the Centre’s plan to transport stranded migrant workers home by buses and said the “ill-conceived plan” will take many months to see through to its completion.

The plan to transport them by bus is a “cruel joke,” the Congress said, adding that it doesn’t take into account the requirements of either states or the migrant workers. (Photo by Manoj Dhaka / Hindustan Times)

Congress’s reaction came aday after the Union government released guidelines for transporting workers, students and others who are stuck away from their home states because of the lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease.

The plan to transport them by bus is a “cruel joke,” the Congress said, adding that it doesn’t take into account the requirements of either states or the migrant workers.

The party demanded that the Centre run special trains to take stranded people home and also provide a financial package to states to handle the crisis. Indian Railways has announced that it would run special trains to take migrant workers to their home states.

Senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said, “You have no idea of the stated facts and the number of migrant labourers, when you issued this Tughlaqi Farman on April 29.”

Sighvi estimated that millions of migrant workers were stuck in different parts of the country. He said; “Any estimate of these figures means that you take up to two or three years to transport them by buses. How many buses, how much petrol, how much diesel, how many roads, how many road blocks, we don’t know and what is the rationale behind this, I am not able to understand; the country is not able to understand.”