Cong-ruled govts paid for around 100 special trains for migrants

The Congress-ruled governments have so far paid for around 100 special trains to transport migrants to their native towns, sources said on Wednesday.

According to information gathered from the states, while Punjab has paid for around 60 trains, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan have paid for 21 and 22 trains respectively, each carrying around 1,400 migrants.

The states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry have also transported migrants and students by buses.

Soon after Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked all state units and governments, where the party is in power, to pay for the return of migrants, the states swung into action and requested for special trains after paying for travel costs of the stranded people.

Punjab has also requisitioned for around 60 trains for sending migrant labour to other states and spent around Rs 6 crore on it.

A state government official said around Rs 35 crore has been earmarked for this and every day 13 special trains of migrants are being operated. He said money is not a constraint but some of the labourers are now not showing up as industries have opened.

The Rajasthan government has spent around Rs 7.5 crore for arranging 22 special trains to transport around 2.15 lakh migrant labourers to different states. Besides, a sum of Rs 12 crore has also been spent for transporting students and migrants through buses, said an official.

The Chhattisgarh government has also arranged for 21 special trains, even though only two trains have run so far and the rest are in the pipeline.

Similarly, Puducherry has spent as much as Rs 40 lakh in sending around 500 people by buses to Rajasthan, and Kerala and is arranging for the transport of migrant labour to Bihar and West Bengal through special trains, the sources said.