Tripura family camps outside Kolkata railway station

AGARTALA: A family from Tripura, which has been spending sleepless nights for the last 53 days outside a railway station in West Bengal, has urged the Biplab Deb government to make arrangements for their return home.
Manasi Roy, her husband and two sons, residents of Durga Chowmuhani area in Agartala, had gone to Kolkata for treatment of the younger son who was suffering from a throat tumour.The 14-year-old boy underwent treatment at RG Kar Medical Hospital and was released on March 25. He was advised to undergo a surgery six months later. The very next day, the family had to leave their hotel after the lockdown began and took shelter in the parking lot outside Kolkata railway station, where they have been spending sleepless nights under the open sky since then.
"We are served food almost every day by the West Bengal government but we cannot sleep. Mosquito bites, sudden gusty winds with rain and scorching sunlight in the daytime have made our life terrible. There are no toilets in the area. Another 20 people from different states have taken shelter here. We requested the authorities to allow us access to the platform area but that didn't happen," Manasi told TOI over phone.
She added, "We couldn't get a pass or afford to hire a vehicle for Rs 1 lakh to travel back home. Unless the Centre makes arrangements for us, we can't get back home."
According to reports, about 6,700 people from Tripura are stranded in different parts of West Bengal - mostly in Kolkata - due to the lockdown. Around 300 people have managed to put up in the four Tripura Bhavans in Kolkata and the state government provides them free accommodation and food.
Tripura government spokesperson and education minister Ratan Lal Nath said, "We are getting distress calls every day from West Bengal. The Tripura government is ready to run special trains to bring back the stranded residents from Bengal. We wish the Bengal government would cooperate with us."
He added that about 33,000 migrants who are stranded in Tripura are being provided free ration, cooked food and cash amounting to Rs 2000 for each person, with the government also arranging for their return. "We request other states, where our people are stranded, to at least provide them free food and ensure safe accommodation for them."