Builders fear labour crunch; Karnataka withdraws special trains

Passengers scuttle to board buses to return to their hometowns, in Bengaluru. Pic/AFP

The Karnataka government has withdrawn its request to the railways to run special trains to ferry migrant labourers to their home states, hours after builders met Chief Minister, B S Yediyurappa to apprise him of the problems to the construction sector in case they left.

The principal secretary in the Revenue Department, N Manjunatha Prasad, who is the nodal officer for migrants, had requested the South Western Railways on Tuesday to run two train services a day for five days except Wednesday, when the state government wanted services thrice a day to Danapur in Bihar.

Karnataka CM, B S Yediyurappa addresses the media about the ongoing COVID-19 situation, in Bengaluru, on Wednesday. Pic/PTI

However, later, Prasad wrote another letter within a few hours that the special trains were not required. Several migrants in the city were desperate to return home as they were out of job and money. "Since the train services are not required from tomorrow, the letter cited under reference above is withdrawn," Prasad wrote to the SW Railway general manager on Tuesday.

The Railway officials said they have received the letter seeking withdrawal of the previous one for running special trains. However, Prasad was not available for comments. The builders had apprised the CM about the shortage of labourers if they were allowed to go back home, said a source privy to the issue.

Rs 1,610-cr package for the distressed

The Karnataka government announced a '1,610-crore relief package for the benefit of those in distress due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown. The measures announced by Chief Minister, B S Yediyurappa would bring relief to farmers, flower-growers, washermen, auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers, MSMEs, large industries, weavers, building workers and barbers. While the government will reach out to about 7.75 lakh auto and taxi drivers by providing a one-time compensation of '5,000 each, a similar assistance will also be extended to barbers and washermen (dhobis), who are also facing the heat of joblessness due to the lockdown.

WB asked to open cross-border transportation

With the Bengal government not adhering to the Centre's guideline on goods transportation through the India-Bangladesh border, the MHA has issued strict direction to the state to implement it "without any delay". The state was also asked to submit a compliance report immediately. "You are directed to allow cross land border transportation through all Indo-Bangladesh borders without any delay and send the compliance report," Home Secretary, Ajay Bhalla said.

Delhi's Twitter handle for COVID queries

The Delhi government launched a Twitter handle for addressing COVID-19 related queries and complaints. The handle @DelhiVsCorona will ensure authentic information about the disease and serve as a one-stop solution for all the COVID-19 related queries and complaints, the government said. Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal has formed a team to monitor this Twitter handle. The team will gather live status of the situation and provide authentic information, it said.

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