Connect with us

Top Stories

Jittery migrants make beeline for railway stations to return home | Goa News – Times of India

Published

on

[ad_1]

Panic-stricken migrants thronged in large numbers at the Margao railway station after receiving news of the four-day ‘lockdown’ in the state from Thursday

MARGAO/VASCO: Memories of reverse migration that happened during the lockdown last year, where hordes of migrants began leaving for their native places, were revived on Wednesday as hundreds of migrants turned up at Vasco and Margao railway stations hoping to board the weekly Vasco-Patna express train.
Bihari migrants started gathering at the Margao railway station soon after they got to know about the four-day partial lockdown announced by the state government.
Railway authorities initially dismissed the arrival of the migrants as a usual situation as the Bihar-bound weekly train usually runs packed to capacity. However, as the number of migrants rushing to the stations increased significantly on Wednesday as the arrival time of the train neared, the authorities realised the gravity of the situation, and the railway police to be on alert.
Konkan Railway sources, however, said that only passengers with reserved tickets are allowed to board the “special trains” that are currently in operation.
A group of around 20 labourers from Jharkhand were on their way back after they didn’t see any hope in getting any immediate work.
“They couldn’t find any work during the past few days and decided not to take a chance,” a volunteer who assisted them getting home told TOI.
“They were working for an event management company to install mandaps, etc, before last year’s lockdown. But after returning, they were not able to find any steady work in event management. The company they used to work for hasn’t cleared their wages since December 2019, so they were forced to do odd jobs. Recently, they were working under a sub contractor to lay the underground electricity cable in Porvorim/Betim area. They finished the work assigned to them last month and were then doing odd jobs,” the volunteer said.
The migrants had their families back home asking them to return. “Yet again they were made to travel in crowded compartments. The government should have communicated with the South Central Railway and Konkan Railway and arranged a few free Shramik trains before announcing the lockdown,” the volunteer said.
After finding that they were going to travel ticketless, some volunteers tried to pay for tickets and food. “There were some who boarded the train without tickets, but the TC let them go,” he said.
Another group of workers from Nepal said they wanted to head home because hotels and smaller guest houses are closing.
At Vasco railway station, Railway police had a hard time managing the migrants who tried to break through the security check in a bid to board the train.
Vasco station manager Ramdas Gudemane said, “We had an unexpected large number of migrants outside the railway station. We will have to be prepared for next Wednesday. The Vasco-Patna Express 02741 only accepts confirmed passengers. But, as they were unaware, they came with the hope of buying the tickets and boarding the train.”
The train has a capacity of 1,480 passengers. At Vasco alone, 1,200 passengers boarded the train.
Meanwhile, the Railways has cancelled several trains due to reduction in number of passengers in view of the Covid-19 situation.
02414/02413 Nizamuddin-Margao Rajdhani superfast bi-weekly special have been cancelled from April 30/May 2, 02120/02119 Karmali-Mumbai CSMT Tejas Superfast special from April 28/29, 02620/02619 Mangaluru Central–LTT Mumbai daily superfast from April 29/30 and 07107/07108 Margao – Mangalore Central special from April 29, Konkan Railway sources said.

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEMail

[ad_2]

Source link

Special Stories

Broke Swiggy guy walks 3 km to deliver food, Social media helps him find better job. Heartwarming story is viral

Published

on

Social media can be a wondrous place at times. While on most days, its ugly face is on display, on days like today, it sets examples of the power of kindness. In a social media post, a LinkedIn user shared how a delivery executive, in need of money and a better job, bagged one after the users on the platform came together to help the person out.

Priyanshi Chandel, Marketing Manager at tech company Flash, shared an incident about a Swiggy delivery agent who had come to deliver food at her residence. When she asked the late and out-of-breath delivery person, identified by her as Sahil Singh, about what happened, he told her that he had no transport and had to walk 3 km to deliver the order.

He also said that he was out of money and had nothing left to pay his landlord too. Singh told her that he was not looking for money from her but requested her to help him bag a job. He said that he had a degree in Electrical and Communication Engineering, and had worked with Byju’s and Ninjacart before. He had to move back to Jammu during the pandemic.

“I have not eaten for a week, just drinking water and tea to get by. I am not asking for anything, please if you can find me a job, I used to make 25k before, I am 30 years old, my parents are getting old and I can’t keep asking for money from them (sic),” Chandel quoted saying.

She also shared his marksheets and contact number for people to help. His details shared show that he is a 2018 BTech graduate from Mewar University, and completed his schooling from the Jammu and Kashmir state board.

After she shared the details, the comments section was filled with people who stepped up to help. While someone recharged his Yulu account so that he did not have to walk around to deliver food, someone offered a place to stay. Many offered to help him with his applications, while some offered jobs too.

Chandel, later on put an update on the post, and said that he received a job.

However, so far it is unclear what job he has received.

2023 has so far been a year of job losses, an eventual outcome of the pandemic and increased hiring by tech companies. For instance, the SSC MTS 2023 recruitment exam that took place in Uttar Pradesh in May saw over 55 lakh applications for Group D jobs. Numerous candidates who applied for positions such as peon, watchman, gardener had educational backgrounds like BTech, MBA, and Master’s degrees.

Continue Reading

Top Stories

Goa CM, NRI Commissioner writes to MoEF for help in safe return of Goans from Ukraine

Published

on

Panaji: Goa chief minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Thursday urged Union Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar to help in safe return of Goans who are in the Ukraine.

Sawant tweeted “we are concerned about the Goans in Ukraine who are considering to return to India in the light of ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. I request Union Minister for External Affairs @DrSJaishankar ji for help in the safe return of Goans. I am keeping track of the situation.”

The chief minister’s tweet comes hours after Goa’s NRI Commissioner Narendra Sawaikar wrote to the Union External Affairs ministry seeking help in return of Goans who are in the Ukraine.

“Many Goans are currently residing in Ukraine due to various purposes including higher studies and due to the ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine, I have started receiving requests for help and assistance from them to return back to India,” Sawaikar wrote.

The Commissioner further wrote in the letter that advisories have already been issued by the Ministery of External Affairs to Indians currently in Ukraine and our Indian Mission in Kyiy is currently handling the matter.

“Striking note of urgency, the Government of India has recently asked the family members of Embassy officials in Ukraine as well as students and citizens whose stay is not vital , to leave the Eastern European nation amid it’s raising tensions with Russia,” the letter reads.

Sawaikar wrote that the Goans in Ukraine are in touch with this office as they are anxious to temporarily return till the situation normalizes.

Continue Reading

Top Stories

Election Commission announces polling dates and counting days for Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 states

Published

on

On Saturday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates for the Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 States, namely, Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

While briefing the media, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra informed that the elections in the poll-bound States will commence from February 10, 2022, to March 7, 2022. Elections in the State of Uttar Pradesh will be conducted in 7 phases, followed by Manipur with 2 phases. Elections in Goa, Uttarkhand and Punjab will be conducted in a single phase.

According to the Election Commission of India, the votes will be counted on March 10, 2022. ECI informed that all physical campaigning will be ceased until January 15, 2022, in light of the rising cases of Coronavirus.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending