Kolkata: When the news report highlighting the plight of migrant workers put up at a quarantine centre in Maithan was published, Jharkhand’s Chief Minister Hemant Soren ordered an inquiry and asked deputy commissioner of Dhanbad to take immediate action on the basis of eNewsroom report.
The news report published on Wednesday indicated that the migrants put up at Maithan’s BSK College were not being provided with water and food ad when they had demanded for water then they were threatened with dire consequences like being shot. The report even contained a video, which clearly shows the 300 migrant workers put up at BSK College claiming that they were not getting water and that they had been threatened of being shot at.
eNewsroom had got the lead of story from Samirul Islam, an activist of Bangla Sanskriti Mancha (BSM), who had personally talked to the migrant workers and later had informed to Birbhum Superintendent of Police Shyam Singh about the matter. In the past Samirul and BSM have helped migrant workers stuck at various places across India to reach Bengal, be it post Pulwama attack or when the migrants have faced any hardship.
However, Deputy Commissioner of Dhanbad, Amit Kumar tweeted within two hours of Jharkhand Chief Minister tweet claiming that everything— be it food, hygiene or security is being maintained at the quarantine centre.
Watch the video of migrant workers reacting after administration takes action
He also mentioned that regular health check-up of migrants were being done and campus was also being sanitized regularly.
However, when eNewsroom, again contacted one of the migrants at BSK College, Maithan on Thursday, they informed that around 11 pm on Wednesday, a few police had come to the centre. “Few police personnel in army uniform visited us. They told us that whatever problem we have faced are a thing of the past now and that there would not be any issue at the center be it lack of water or food shortage. They also mentioned that within two days, we will be sent back home.”
Among the 300 migrant workers put up at the centre, most are from Bengal, while some are also from Jharkhand. All of these migrants worked in Bihar and soon after the lockdown was announced on the midnight of March 24, these migrants had left for their respective hometowns – Murshidabad, Birbhum, Dhanbad on foot. But after reaching the Jharkhand-Bengal border on March 30 there were quarantined for 15 days. Now, even after completing their isolation tenure, they have yet to sent their homes.
Significantly, Dhanbad DC in his tweet did not mention anything about the threat migrant workers received for asking water.