[WSMDiscuss] Why Should Migrant Workers Pay to Return Home?

[Umakant]

Dear Friends

Greetings! After more than 5 weeksof forced stay in government run shelter home/camps, the migrant laborers arebeing allowed to return to their home –state/towns/villages by buses and specialtrains. With no work and with not much left of their savings the poor &lower caste migrant workers are being charged fares for availing train/busservice which is quite surprising as well ironical. 

 

Indian expats were evacuated fromforeign countries and the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India,made the arrangement for travel and also paid about rupees six crores to AirIndia for this purpose. 

 

Why this double standard? Helpingthe rich/upper caste people and charging from poor/lower caste migrant workers? 

 

Do pass it on to others in yourcircle/network. 

 

Govt Paid toEvacuate Indians Stranded Abroad, But Migrant Workers Have to Bear Own TrainFare to Return Home

Zeba Warsi, CNN-News18, May 03, 2020 

https://www.news18.com/news/india/while-indians-stranded-abroad-pay-nothing-for-evacuation-it-costs-migrant-workers-to-return-home-2603091.html

 

Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan hadearlier told the Parliament that Air India raised a bill of around Rs 5.98crore for operating two special flights to China to bring back Indians strandedthere. 

 

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Why is India spending money showering petals onhospitals but making workers pay for train tickets?

Shoaib Daniyal, Scroll, May 03, 2020 

https://scroll.in/article/960909/why-is-india-spending-money-showering-petals-on-hospitals-but-making-workers-pay-for-train-tickets

 

Gestures should not come at the cost of real action.

 

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Centre'sOrder On States Collecting Migrants' Train Fare Upsets Opposition

NDTV, May 03, 2020 

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/coronavirus-centres-order-on-states-taking-migrants-train-fare-upsets-opposition-2222466

 

Coronavirus:Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said it was "highly shameful"that the BJP government was charging the vulnerable labourers for the trainride home.

 

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With Regards 

Umakant, Ph. D 

New Delhi 



 






My final words of advice to you are educate, agitate and organize; have faith in yourself. With justice on our side I do not see how we can lose our battle. The battle to me is a matter of joy. The battle is in the fullest sense spiritual. There is nothing material or social in it. For ours is a battle not for wealth or for power. It is battle for freedom. It is the battle of reclamation of human personality. 
B.R.Ambedkar
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