Letter to BS: Centre, state govts are oblivious to migrant workers' woes

Letter to BS: Centre, state govts are oblivious to migrant workers' woes

The country was really shocked by the news of the death of 16 migrant labourers on Friday when a goods train ran over them between Jalna and Aurangabad districts in Maharashtra. The entire episode had happened solely due to the sudden announcement of a lockdown and the denial of transport to them for weeks. This amounts to criminal neglect. The state and central governments have practically left them to fend for themselves. It is shocking that they seem to be playing with the lives of the innocent labourers. Both the central and the state governments appear to be oblivious of the fact that millions of migrant workers are walking back to their home states and they appear to be waiting for more such tragedies to happen as they engage in a blame game. What is more unfortunate is that while no one was ready to give them even Rs 5 when they were alive, after their death, the government has immediately announced Rs 5 lakh as grant. It's a real pity!

S K  Khosla  Chandigarh

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