Migrant workers picket NH demanding transport to return home

At least 200 migrant workers on Monday staged a sit-in on the national highway at Nandi Bazar at nearbyKoyilandidemanding transport to return home. The workers staged a demonstration and sat on the road blocking vehicular traffic on the Kozhikode-Mangalore national highway, following which police used lathis to chase them away, police sources said.

They were upset that some special trains, scheduled for Monday, had been canceled. Railway sources said some trains had been canceled as the government had not received confirmation from the respective states.

The protesters went back to their respective camps after police and panchayat officials assured them that all efforts would be made to expedite their return home. Migrant workers from Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha have been sent back in trains in the past two days.

"Thanks to the special trains arranged, they were hoping to reach their homes soon. But the news of the cancellation of trains has been a big blow to their expectation. The protest is only a manifestation of their frustration," said an official of the Moodadi grama panchayat.

With no work and pay, the daily wage earners from various states were demanding transport facilities for their travel back to their hometowns. Operation of Shramik trains to different destinations from late last week has been a big relief for the migrant workers who had been confined in their temporary camps due to the nation-wide lockdown due to Covid-19.