If Indians can be evacuated from abroad, why not assist those stranded here: Ahmed Patel

March 28, 2020
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel on Friday raised questions over the migration of the workers walking on their feet to their home towns in far off places and asked the government if it can evacuate Indian citizens stranded in foreign countries, why not assist those stranded in the country.

He also demanded the government to run a one-time service of trains and buses to transport such people.

In a series of tweets, the Congress General Secretary, who is also a Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat, said, “We are concerned about migrant workers walking on empty highways. The Central government must issue a directive to enable one-time train/bus service so these people can reach home. If we can evacuate Indians stranded in foreign soil why not assist those stranded on domestic soil?”

“The Congress President has also requested the Prime Minister, asking the Centre to issue guidance to allow authorities to assist those stuck in transit. We hope the Centre takes cognizance of the plight of those trapped immediately,” he said in another tweet.

His remarks came after videos of a number of laborers surfaced on social media and news platforms showing the migrant workers walking on their feet to different cities of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar from the national capital.

The reverse migration from several parts of the country started after the government on Wednesday announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown to combat the novel coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Till Friday, a total of 724 positive coronavirus cases have been reported from across the country, including 17 deaths. IANS