DN&V Correspondent
Lucknow, May 04: The Log Party today criticised the central government for failing to devise cost-effective sharing plan for transporting migrants back home. The party said the Railway Ministry has also behaved irresponsibly by charging additional money from poor people who are desperate to get back to their homes in this hour of national crisis.
The spokesman of Log Party, headed by former Secretary Government of India Vijay Shankar Pandey, said here on Monday that both central and respective state governments should have chalked out the plan to pay for the fare so that poor migrants should not have to make the payments. The spokesman said it is indeed shocking that apart from fare the Railway Ministry has slapped Rs 50 per ticket additional charge which is not justified in this hour of crisis. Pointing out that issue has already turned into a flashpoint between the centre and states about the payment, the spokesman said the migrants, running out of cash after more than a month of lockndown, are the worst victims of this indecisiveness.
The central government on May 1 announced special trains to ferry the several migrant workers and students stranded in various parts of the country amid the lockdown. However, the Indian Railways decided to charge for tickets for operating special trains for the stranded workers, and the fare includes the price of regular sleeper class tickets plus superfast charges of Rs 30 and an additional charge of Rs 20. The spokesman said the whole plan appeared to lopsided as now the migrants are caught between centre-state fight. There is also no clarity over “stranded” migrants who are be brought back. The spokesman said NDA government should have taken lead in formulating the critical cost-sharing plan to avoid any problem to poor people. Moreover, the Railways instead of looking into the plan with commercial eyes should have come out with humanitarian approach to help the poor people
