UP wants more Shramik trains to send workers home

Lucknow, June 9 (IANS) The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has sought more Shramik Special trains from the state in order to send back migrant workers who belong to other states.

A sizeable number of workers employed in brick kilns now want to return to their states, especially Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

The home department officials held a meeting with the brick kiln operators and directed District Magistrates and senior police officials in all districts to collect the data of such workers and ensure that before they return to their homes, all their dues by the brick kiln owners are cleared.

Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Avanish Awasthi said that about 12,000 brick kilns are functional in the state, but with monsoon round the corner, these will now be closed. Workers at these brick kilns want to return home.

“Brick kilns have been working during the lockdown but now that monsoon is approaching, they will shut down. A meeting has been held with the owners and all district magistrates have been asked to ensure that all dues are paid before workers are sent home,” he said.

The Uttar Pradesh government has requested the Centre for more Shramik Special trains to send back kiln workers, along with anyone else who belongs to another state and wants to return.

Awasthi said that the government would continue to operate the free train and bus services till the time people from Uttar Pradesh, who were stuck in other states and those in the state who belong to other states and want to go back home, were not duly transported to their respective states.

The government has once again appealed to those who wish to return but have still not done so, to contact the nodal officer deputed for the particular state.

More than 31 lakh people have been brought back to Uttar Pradesh so far, either in bus or in trains. Many have travelled back on their own.

Meanwhile, state Chief Secretary R. K. Tiwari has directed the Noida administration to focus on clearing the crowds at the Noida-Delhi border after Delhi started allowing free movement between the two states since Monday. He has asked the department concerned to put in place a proper mechanism for passes within the next two days.

–IANS

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