Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday sought Union Home Minister Amit Shah's intervention for the homeward journey of over six lakh migrant workers stuck in the state due to the coronavirus lockdown, saying they were eager to go home.
In a letter to the Union minister on Monday, the chief minister urged to arrange special trains for the next 10-15 days, a release said.
Though the state government has made all possible arrangements to provide them with food and shelter in the past six weeks, they were now naturally keen on getting back home, said Amarinder, urging the home minister to immediately intervene in view of the special exigency.
The chief minister requested Shah to direct the Ministry of Railways to make suitable arrangements since the migrant labourers stranded in Punjab were understandably restless to return to their native places.
The chief minister's request came as over 6.44 lakh migrant workers interested in returning to their home states successfully registered on the state government's portal in this regard, the official release said.
The chief minister told Shah that his government will indicate its daily requirement of trains in advance to the Ministry of Railways for the next 10-15 days to transport all people who registered on the government portal.
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At the local level, Amarinder Singh said Punjab officers were coordinating with senior railway officers and the authorities of other states to plan a smooth movement of the migrants.
The chief minister said a large number of labourers come from UP, Bihar and other eastern States to seek temporary employment in both industrial and agricultural sectors in Punjab.
These people, who were due to leave in March, normally after Holi, could not leave due to the imposition of lockdown this year, he said.