Migrants Lost Patience, Says Shah; Admits to ‘Unwanted’ Incidents

Union Home Minister Amit Shah. 

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Amit Shah)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday, 2 June said that migrant workers across states lost patience as they started walking to their hometowns and that a few unwanted incidents did take place during the ongoing crisis.

In an interview to CNN-News18, Shah said that the government did provide transport for the ones who wished to return to their states.

“Some people lost patience and started walking on the roads. Even then we started buses and transported them to railway stations from where they were safely taken to their villages,” Shah said.

“It is true that some incidents happened that should not have. For 5-6 days it happened. After which we provided facilities and people started understanding it,” he said.

Shah said that till date, the Centre has transferred Rs 11,000 crore to states to make arrangements for the migrants and that forty-one lakh migrant workers were sent home by buses and 55 lakh were sent home in trains.

Public transport was suspended since the lockdown began on 25 March with Prime Minister Modi appealing to the citizens to “stay where they are.” However, migrant labourers across the country started walking to their hometowns on foot due to lack of work and financial support.

The government then started arranging special trains and buses for migrants from 1 June.

Till date, over 100 migrant workers have died in accidents, heat strokes and starvation while navigating their way back home amid the pandemic.

(With inputs from CNN-News18.)