Rajasthan: Migrants arriving from Assam and Odisha complain of neglect

JAIPUR: The stranded migrant labourers from Odisha and Assam, who were provided free bus ride till Jaipur, claimed that they got no assistance from state and had to manage their own transport for reaching Kuchaman City in Nagaur.
After seamless bus travel for three days from Assam to Jaipur and Odisha to Jaipur via Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana, they were left unattended in Jaipur.
TOI had met these 17 labourers on Saturday evening. They reached their native village at Kuchaman City of Nagaur by arranging some vehicles on their own on Sunday morning.
“It is a pity that we got free travel to cover a distance of almost 2,000km, still the government failed to ferry us to Kuchaman City from Jaipur, which is merely 105km away. After reaching here on Thursday night, we were told that since there weren’t sufficient number of migrant labourers to be taken to Kuchaman City, the authorities will wait. Till then, we were asked to wait at Sindhi Camp bus stand,” said Prema Ram, a labourer.
However, after waiting for two days when no buses were provided, these labourers had initially decided to cover the distance of 105km from Jaipur to Kuchaman City on foot. “We were in touch with our villagers. Thankfully, we got three different vehicles in which we managed to reach our village early on Sunday,” said Ashok Pareekh, who works at construction sites and puts floor tiles.
The labourers said that they had no option other than coming back to their homes.
Now as a responsible citizens, these workers are staying at the quarantine centre in a school building of Kuchaman City. “It is better to stay in our village school as we are already at home before finally reaching our homes,” said Prema Ram.