The Karnataka government on Thursday said it will resume special train services for migrant workers trapped in the state amid the countryw...
The Karnataka government on Thursday said it will resume special train services for migrant workers trapped in the state amid the countrywide lockdown, a day after the decision to scrap them sparked widespread criticism, The Indian Express reported. However, disillusioned by the government, many of them have begun walking back to their hometowns.
Chandrabhushan Sahani, 24, told the newspaper he started walking from Hebbal in Bengaluru with just Rs 300 in his pocket and 90% phone battery, hoping it would last him on a journey of 2,100 km. The construction worker took the NH-44 highway on Thursday afternoon to reach his hometown in Siddharth Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh.
Sahani is a part of 23 other workers from the construction site all of whom hail from the same or surrounding districts.“We will reach Hyderabad, and then somehow if they let us cross the state border, we will keep going,” he said. “I need to keep speaking to my mother and wife at home. I am worried about running out of charge. So I am using it sparingly.”
The Karnataka government had cancelled trains on Tuesday after Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa met prominent builders and real estate firms who reportedly expressed concern over the mass exodus of labourers.
However, after...
