Lakhs of workers entering Rajasthan daily

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan State Roadways Transport Corporation RSRTC ) depots across the state were sanitised on Saturday and 20 buses were reserved to transport migrant workers at every depot.This has given a ray of hope to lakhs of workers who are undergoing unprecedented hardships to cross the Rajasthan border daily. Additionally, those living in different districts in the state can also use the facility to reach home.Following the announcement made by state transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas , migrant labourers started assembling at nearby bus stands across the state on Saturday afternoon.“We are reserving 20 buses in every bus depot across the state. Those going out of Rajasthan will be left at their respective state borders and those wanting to go to their villages in various districts will be taken to nearby cities,” said transport commissioner Ravi Jain.TOI contacted authorities at Kota, Sriganganagar, Alwar, Bharatpur and Jalore which are have borders with states siuch as Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, respectively, to know the situation.“At least 35,000 migrant workers have already reached Rajasthan from Gujarat either on foot or by transport vehicles carrying essential commodities,” said a senior police officer from Jalore.At Jaipur, at least 35,000 workers assembled at bus stands.“My village is near Fatehpur Sikri and I’m happy to get a bus,” said Pappu Mahawar, who was at the Jaipur bus stand along with his wife and two kids.“It is painful to see that people are compelled to walk for around 300-400 km! Every day, lakhs of migrant workers are entering the state and a similar number is moving out. If we can airlift Indians stranded in countries like Spain, Iraq, United Kingdom, etc., it is our responsibility to help these labourers too,” said Khachariyawas while spaeking to TOI on Saturday.He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi ask other state governments to run their buses as well.“Our buses will leave migrants from other states at the border and bring people who are returning to our state. It is a necessity,” he said.Senior officers have directed authorities to ensure that each bus has no more than 20-25 passengers against the capacity of 35 passengers.