UP-bound migrants taken for a ride

Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 12

About 30 migrant workers, who boarded a private bus from here for their home in Uttar Pradesh on Monday evening, were brought back to the local bus stand the next morning as the driver did not have permission to ply to UP.

The workers said the bus operator had charged Rs3,300 from each of them. They said the driver took an about-turn before Ambala.

“The bus driver and the conductor told us to return to our homes. We told them our landlord will not allow us to stay, but they were not ready to listen to us. Besides, they did not return the bus fare,” said Raghunath, one of the workers.

Sitting outside the bus stand hungry, another worker said he wanted to return home as he didn’t have money to buy ration.

Bus driver Talwinder Singh claimed he had the permission to take the migrants to Uttar Pradesh. “En route, I received the information that the UP Police stopped a bus at Muzafarnagar. So, I thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to proceed further. Hence, I took an about-turn.”

He also claimed the bus operator received a fresh nod on Tuesday to take migrants home.

When Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Agrawal was asked whether or not the administration had granted permission to the bus operator, he said: “The UP Government has not allowed buses from other state to enter UP.”

Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Iqbal Singh Sandhu reiterated that the administration did not give permission to send any bus to UP. “No permission can be granted till the UP Government allows it,” he added.

Sources say permission was granted to four buses to ply, but it was withdrawn later. On May 10, the bus operator was instructed not to send any bus to UP till further orders.

Amarjit Singh Tikka, a member of a Congress panel which has been formed to ensure smooth movement of workers, demanded a probe.