India is undergoing a prolonged nation-wide lockdown from March 25th after the COVID-19 Novel Corona Virus was declared a Pandemic, after claiming hundreds of thousands of lives, across the world! Ever since the announcement of the lockdown, many people, including migrant labourers, tourists and students were left stranded in various parts of the country, with no means of transport to return home! However, the Central Government, in association with the Ministry of Railways and the respective State Governments, has been making arrangements for these stranded migrant labourers to return to their respective natives, through special trains! With thousands of migrant labourers returning to their native places, there is an instance of reverse migration, happening in Telangana state!
It has come to light that about 225 labourers from Bihar have returned to Telangana, after learning of better prospects for wages. This is the peak of the Paddy harvest in Telangana and the state was suffering from lack of manual workforce! Now, labourers are returning for work and the first batch of 225 labourers arrived through the special Shramik Express train that reached Patna, from Telangana on Thursday and have since landed at the Lingampally Station in Telanga, on Friday. The Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar welcomed each of them with a rose flower and the state also bore the travel expenses of these returning labourers. They are expected to be sent for work at various rice mills in Nalgonda, Miriyalguda, Kamareddy, Karimnagar, Jagtial, Siddipet, Sultanpet and other areas. These labourers would be paid about Rs. 1200 for a day's work in Telangana, while they would only be earning about Rs. 300 per day, in Bihar. The Telangana Government is in talks with the Bihar Government to bring back more labourers who are willing to return to work. Stay tuned for updates...