Lockdown: Tamils stuck in Maharashtra say officials demand Rs 3,500 as bus fare to send them back home

CHENNAI:

Tamils

stuck in Mumbai, its suburbs and several parts of Maharashtra, who are anxiously waiting to return home, say officials in that state are demanding Rs 3,500 as

bus fare

.

There is no clear communication from source and destination states regarding their policies on inter-state migration.

It has been six days since the ministry of home affairs issued an order permitting the inter-state migration by road, but states like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have not taken concrete measures to address the plights of migrant labourers till date. Tamils are running from pillar to post to get medical certificates to self-report on the destination state’s portal to get back home.

Several labourers from Tamil Nadu stranded in Mumbai city and Ratnagiri district say no help or communication from the Tamil Nadu government has reached them till date.

“After the medical examination for temperature, the authorities are asking for Rs 3,500 from each of us for bus fare. (Sleeper class train fare from Chennai to Mumbai is less than Rs 600) Where will we go for the money as we didn’t have any job for the last two months?,” said M Illayaraja, who along with 500 others are staying in Vijayanagar in Sangli. He is hailing from Tayinipatti in Pudukkottai district.

Police have arranged a free medical check-up for 540 youths staying in Ratnagiri. “Officials here are saying that they are ready to send us home, but there is no response from our (TN) government till date. They have taken our names, phone numbers and promised us to arrange transportation facility if the TN government is ready to receive us,” said R Karthick of Tiruvallur’s Tiruttani. “Will the TN government be ready to receive us?” said a group of youths staying in Ratnagiri along with Karthick.

As per protocol, their should be coordination between the states on transportation of guest workers. “The authorities in Maharashtra told that the TN government was not keen on receiving them. Without any communication from our state, it will be difficult for us to reach home on our own,” said M G Vignesh of Kanykumari’s Kottar village.

Srithar of Mumbai Vizhithal Iyakkam said several hundred Tamils, daily wage labourers, were living in a pathetic condition in Mumbai city. They were living on private charity, but the lack of action from the TN government to bail them out of this pathetic condition is unfortunate.