Mangaluru:
Hundreds of migrant workers from West Bengal on Thursday gathered at Jokatte industrial area outside the city after getting information that a Shramik special train was scheduled to leave Mangaluru junction railway station for their home state.
The migrants, who later heard from authorities that the train has been cancelled, created a scene at the place demanding alternative arrangements,police sources said.
Officials of the district information said the scheduled train was cancelled as the railway lines in the Bengal sector had been damaged due to the recent cyclone.
However, many workers who had vacated their rented places, were left stranded at the place for hours.
The labourers, who had been waiting for long after registering their names with the governments ‘Seva Sindhu’ portal, told the officials that the contractors had not paid them wages in the last three months.
Police personnel who reached the spot later succeeded in pacifying the workers and sent them back to their places.
Around 50 among them found temporary shelter inside the hall of the Jokatte panchayat office.
According to official sources, 24,553 labourers from Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Rajasthan have been taken to their states from Dakshina Kannada (DK) district in special Shramik trains so far.
A Shramik train is yet to leave for West Bengal from the district.
