Life on the road began to improve for migrant workers, who drove long distances on their way home for a few days, little by little.
After a series of meetings in the corridors of power, the picture changed slightly on Thursday afternoon and then changed considerably on Saturday.
The improvement in their lot came after the incident of stranded laborers walking long distances from the National Capital Region (NCR) to UP destinations when Kovid-19 became a serious concern among the locked. As a result, more than 1,000 buses were pressed into service on Saturday to divert migrants from different parts of the border districts to their destinations.
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Those who walked long distances and reached the state boundaries in Noida and Ghaziabad scrambled to get a seat or stand in a corridor or a spot to get a spot on the roof of buses.
By Thursday, men, women, children were hungry and thirsty because there was no transport and little cash or food.
However, after frequent meetings in the state on the issue, steps began to be taken to end their plight.
For instance, Bulandshahr district administration and police officials raced to help migrants when they were told that more than a thousand migrant workers were marching from Delhi towards their homes in Bulandshahr and neighboring districts. The administration provided food, water, and then arranged buses to pack them in their respective districts.
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“They walked long distances from Delhi, Noida and were hungry and thirsty. We arranged food packets, water for them and then sent them to their home districts with the help of district administration, ”said Bulandshahr Superintendent of Police (SP) Santosh Singh.
Similarly, the crisis subsided at Jhansi railway station, where more than 300 migrant workers were stranded. The district administration made similar arrangements for them in the same way as all workers in Bulandshahr are made after thermal scans.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asked the District Magistrates of the border districts to make special arrangements for laborers/laborers going to their home states.
A state government spokesperson said: “After the review meeting of Kovid-19 on Friday night, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath again called the officials for another meeting, a discussion on how to deal with the transition of the migrant population.
The Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, a Principal Secretary to CM and Additional Chief Secretary, gathered at the official residence of the CM. Around 1 pm, the Managing Director of UPSRTC was called.
Later, UPSRTC started calling its drivers and conductors in various districts and Lucknow. “Within the hour, 1,000 buses were plying in Noida, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, and Hapur.
The District Magistrate and the Chief of Police were asked to make arrangements in all such districts where buses were dispatched, including law and order, and food and water for migrants.
“As of 11.30 am on Saturday morning, we have stopped about 79 buses, apart from various destinations like Lucknow, Etawah, Bareilly, Etah, Aligarh and Gorakhpur. We will keep sending buses until all the stranded workers are sent to their destination.
We have now resumed service from ISBT Kaushambi, from where all these buses are running unopposed, ”said AK Singh, Regional Manager, UPSRTC, Ghaziabad.
Buses were sent every two hours.
The migrant workers’ movement began on 24 March when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockout.
(Readers can report issues of migrant workers by tweeting the Chief Minister’s telephone helpline 1076 and/or @ CMHelpline1076)
