By Jacob Peenikaparambil

Indore, May 8, 2020: The tragic death of 16 migrant workers on the railway tracks in Aurangabad city is the result of the callous and insensitive approach of the federal and state governments towards the burning issue of migrant workers.

In fact, it is murder due to negligence and lack of coordination between the Centre and the State governments.

As reported in the media the workers were mowed down by a goods train that was running between Jalna and Aurangabad at 5:15 am. As per the statement of an official, the workers had been walking along the rail track towards their homes in Madhya Pradesh and slept on the tracks due to exhaustion.

The restlessness of the migrant workers to reach their homes was evident from the long lines of thousands of migrant workers walking for hundreds of kilometers, when all India lockdown was declared by the prime minister and all modes of public transport were cancelled.

From the day one onwards there was no coordinated action plan by the States and the Federal Government to respond to the needs of the migrant workers. Except unilateral dictates from the Federal government from time to time there were no concrete plans to solve the issue of migrant workers.

Even when the government took decision to send the migrant workers to their home states by train there was confusion regarding the payment of ticket fare and provision of food and water on the way. The opposition Congress party accused the federal government doing cruelty to the workers by charging ticket fare from them. The Railways said that it was giving 85 percent of the ticket fare as concession and only 15 percent was expected to be paid by the state governments. Even now there no clarity regarding the payment of ticket fare.

Lack of coordination between the states was evident on the border of Karnataka and Maharashtra when migrant workers travelling from Gujarat reached the border. They were denied entry to Karnataka and they had to wait 72 hours without food and water. As per News 18 report, they were allowed to enter the state at 2 am on May 8 after top leaders, including leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah intervened.

“We were treated like criminals, unwanted foreigners or refugees by our own police,” told one of the stranded workers to News 18. Another said, “They told us to go back to Maharashtra or Gujarat. Maharashtra police told us that since we were Kannadigas, we should enter Karnataka. We were kicked around like a football for three days.”

Another fiasco took place in Karnataka. The Karnataka government withdrew its request to the railways to run special trains for the migrants within hours of making it on May 5. It was reported that the decision to withdraw the plea for special trains was made due the pressure from the industrialists and construction companies.

Because of the outrage from various quarters the government has again decided to run special trains for migrants. The All India Central Council of Trade Unions termed the move of the government to cancel the trains a violation of the fundamental right of the freedom of movement and one that promoted forced labor.

News 18 reported another tragic incident May 8. A migrant couple was crushed to death and their two children were critically injured after they were hit by an unknown vehicle in Lucknow’s Shaheed Path late on May 6 night.

The couple, Krishna and Pramila, were working as laborers in Lucknow and they were staying in a slum in Jankipuram area. The family was allegedly facing a paucity of resources amid the lockdown. Hence they decided to cycle their way back home.

According to a report released by the Save Life Foundation, at least 42 migrant workers died in road accident while attempting to return home during the coronavirus lockdown.

Many political leaders expressed their shock and grief at the death of the 16 migrant workers in the railway accident. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi repeated his request to put money into the hands of the poor. “Migrants need support and money now, and today. MSMEs need help immediately, not tomorrow, or job losses will become tsunami,” he said.

Congress Spokesperson, Jaiveer Shergill castigated the BJP government for its failure to deal with the issue of the migrants. He said that the tragedy in Aurangabad could have been avoided if the BJP had taken the following steps: 1) Planned reverse migration of workers in advance 2) Given monetary help instead of forcing them to walk and 3) Focused on crisis rather than the event management.

Besides criticizing the government, the opposition parties should arrive at a consensus regarding their approach to the issue and bring it to the attention of the Federal government.

Time is running out for the federal and state government to prepare a coordinated action plan to solve the issues related to the migrant workers. The prime minister should take immediate steps to consult the chief ministers and other Federal ministers related to the issue and arrive at a consensus on the steps to be taken.

There could be two pronged approach to solve the issue of migrant workers. First of all, the migrant workers could be motivated to stay where they are by offering them attractive incentives. This is very much needed for the resumption of economic activities.

Secondly, arrangements shall be made on a war footing to send back the migrant workers who want to return to their home states. The number of trains for ferrying the workers could be increased as per the demand. There should be a clear policy regarding the travel of the migrant workers, specifying the role of the Federal government and the state governments. The guidelines should be made public so that the workers will come to know what they have to do and whom they have to approach.

Taking into account the paucity of finance with the state governments, the federal government should bear the cost of the ticket and providing the workers food and water during the travel. The state governments should take the responsibility of bringing the workers to the concerned railway stations and taking the workers who arrive in their states to their destinations.

The anguish expressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the death of the migrant workers in rail accident at Aurangabad needs to be followed up with immediate action plan to prevent such tragic incidents in the future. It seems that the migrant workers have lost all hope and they appear to be highly desperate.

This is the time that the political leadership has to express its sensitivity towards the most depressed as well as deserving section of the Indian society.

(The writer is available at jacobpt48@gmail.com)