COVID-19 Lockdown: Over 8.5 Lakh Migrants Returned To Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Amid Covid-19 pandemic, about 8,53,777 migrants have returned to Odisha so far, State Labour minister Susanta Singh informed in the ongoing monsoon session of Odisha assembly on Tuesday.

Replying to a question from Congress MLA Santosh Singh Saluja, Singh sated that the maximum Odia migrants have returned from the States of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Kerala on 277 special trains.

“The State Government has paid Rs 9 crore to the East Coast Railway (ECoR) towards the transport cost of the migrants,” he said.

The minister however said that the State Government does not have any concrete details about the number of labourers among the returnees. “We are trying to trace the number of migrant labourers block wise,” he added.

Singh also informed that two migrant workers have lost their lives on their way to the state during the lockdown.

“Train and bus services were stopped due to the lockdown announced on March 24. Many Odia migrant workers returned to the state amidst the uncertainty and two of them died on the way,” he said.

“The concerned department is collecting the fact about the ex gratia amount paid to them,” he added.

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