Railway Refutes Reports of Migrant Workers Heading Home Due To Covid Surge, Lockdown Fear

The Indian Railways on Friday refuted such claims and said it had done a walk-through at New Delhi Railway station to check if there is any kind of rush.

New Delhi: After reports about migrant workers going home surfaced across social media platforms, the Indian Railways on Friday refuted such claims and said it had done a walk-through at New Delhi Railway station to check if there is any kind of rush. “Media reports about migrant workers going home due to COVID-19 are not correct. We had done a walk-through at New Delhi Railway station to check if there is any kind of rush or not. I request media to visit all our stations and show the truth,” Deepak Kumar, CPRO, Northern Railways, said.

Fearing another lockdown in the wake of a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases in many states, migrant workers were seen heading home from several states. One such incident was reported in Gujarat’s Surat and Ahmedabad, two of the state’s most severely affected cities.

Media reports about migrant workers going home due to #COVID19 are not correct. We had done a walk-through at New Delhi Railway station to check if there is any kind of rush or not. I request media to visit all our stations& show the truth: Deepak Kumar, CPRO, Northern Railway pic.twitter.com/a4RyKSbc8n

— ANI (@ANI) April 9, 2021

However, government officials on Thursday claimed the number of those leaving was very low and people cannot be stopped from moving from one place to another.

“There are no formal reports which suggest that a large number of migrants are leaving. However, we have asked district authorities to ensure that workers do not face any trouble,” state Additional Chief Secretary, Labour and Employment, Vipul Mittra told PTI.

Since there is no lockdown and trains are also running, people are free to move anywhere in the country, he said.

In Ahmedabad, a number of migrant workers, mostly hailing from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, have been rushing to the city’s main Kalupur railway station to travel to their native places, said Yogesh Mishra, member of the Zonal Rail Users Consultative Committee.

The migrants fear they would be stuck here if the government imposes another lockdown, Mishra said, adding that the waiting list for reserved seats in trains is also increasing with each passing day.

In Surat, migrant workers belonging to UP, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand have been leaving in luxury buses, but their number is not very large, Surat Luxury Bus Operators Association president Dinesh Andhan said.