Bengaluru:The Karnataka government has withdrawn its request to the railways to run special trains to ferry migrant labourers to their home states, hours after builders met Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to apprise him of the problems to the construction sector in case they left.
The Principal Secretary in the Revenue Department N Manjunatha Prasad, who is the nodal officer for migrants, had requested the South Western Railways on Tuesday to run two train services a day for five days except Wednesday, when the state government wanted services thrice a day to Danapur in Bihar.
However, later, Prasad wrote another letter within a few hours that the special trains were not required. Several migrants in the city were desperate to return home as they were out of job and money. "Since the train services are not required from tomorrow, the letter cited under reference above is withdrawn," Prasad wrote to the SW Railway General Manager on Tuesday.
The Railway officials said they have received the letter seeking withdrawal of the previous one for running special trains. However, Prasad was not available for comments. The builders had apprised the CM about the shortage of labourers if they were allowed to go back home, said a source privy to the issue.
While the supply of construction material was not a major issue with the relaxation in lockdown norms, the city would witness labour problem if the migrant workers were allowed to go back to their home states, the builders said.
After the meeting, the Chief Minister urged the labourers to stay back and assured them of every assistance. The migrant labourers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal had created a ruckus in the city on Monday demanding that they be sent home.