Andhra Pradesh government 4,176 migrant workers to be sent to native States in trains: M T Krishna Babu

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Covid-19 State committee member M T Krishna Babu said the State government has identified 4,661 migrant workers walking along the national highways and they were shifted to 62 relief centres to provide food and accommodation for some days.

He said that these migrant workers will be sent to their native States of Odisha, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and some workers to north coastal districts.

Addressing a media conference at the R and B office here on Sunday, Krishna Babu said the State government was holding discussions with other State governments to send the migrant workers to their native States in four or five days. He said 485 migrant workers belonging to the north coastal districts and 4,176 migrant workers from other States were sent to relief centres on May 14.

He said a train to North Eastern States will start from Vijayawada on Sunday night. Referring to food and accommodation to the provided to the migrant workers, he said Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy instructed the revenue and police department officials to work in co-ordination to shift the migrant workers to the relief centres and provide food and water till they return to their States by trains.

He informed that special arrangements were made for the stay of 500 to 2,000 migrant workers at the inter-State border check-posts.

Giving details of migrant workers from north coastal districts and Odisha, he said they were being sent in buses and Odihsa workers will be dropped at Ganjam district. Krishna Babu has informed that so far 36,823 migrant workers were sent to States like Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and other states by 36 Shramik trains.

He has made it clear that the State government would bear the transportation expenses to send the migrant workers within the State or to other States.

He said 1,09,742 migrant workers from Andhra Pradesh were sent to their respective districts by buses. He expressed concern over the pathetic condition of migrant workers, who were walking along the highways to go back to their native places and added that the State government would take the responsibility of sending these workers by buses and trains.