Ghar wapsi of migrant workers: Young Hemant Soren outshines veteran Nitish Kumar

When the first special train carrying around 1200 migrant workers from Telangana chugged in at Hatia railway station near Ranchi at 11.20 pm on Friday midnight, history was created. Jharkhand became the first State where a passenger train completed its destination after five weeks of lockdown.

Prior to the migrants’ arrival, Chief Minister Hemant Soren was present at Hatia, a 20-minute drive from Ranchi, to oversee the arrangements for the ‘incoming guests’ of his State. Flowers, food packets and mineral water were offered to each of the passengers who were earlier properly screened at the railway station and then asked to board the 56 buses lined up outside the Hatia railway station.

Four buses and ambulances were kept in reserve as these migrant workers had travelled nearly 19 hours from Lingampalli (Telangana) to Hatia in Jharkhand. The DC and SSP of Ranchi were personally present at the station to oversee the workers’ departure to their respective districts in separate buses, called ‘Samman Rath’.

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Of these around 1200 migrants, the highest number of workers were from Palamu (269), while the lowest from Koderma (2). Altogether 18 buses left for Palamu alone after the migrants were given medical clearance.

“Hemant Soren walked away with the cake by bringing in the migrants stuck in other State while Nitish Kumar, who often keeps talking of double engine Government in Bihar (in oblique reference to the NDA Government at the Centre as well as in the State), kept citing rules and regulations,” said Leader of the Opposition, Tejashwi Yadav, showering praise on the Jharkhand Chief Minister. “The way he (Soren) kept his officials on their toes from Thursday midnight and meticulously planned return of migrants is really praiseworthy,” the former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar added.