Bengal: 260 migrant handloom workers sent to homes in Coochbehar from Nadia in special buses

A total of 260 migrant workers employed in handlooms of Shantipur in West Bengal''s Nadia district have been sent to their homes in Coochbehar district in the northern part of the state in special buses amid the lockdown, Nadia Zilla Parishad president Rikta Kundu said on Saturday.

The district administration had started the service on Wednesday and so far, 10 buses with migrant handloom workers have left for Coochbehar, including two on Saturday. Only 26 people were seated in each bus to ensure social distancing, Kundu said.

While six buses had left for Coochbehar on Wednesday, two each left on Thursday and Saturday, she said. "North Bengal Development Minister Rabindranath Ghosh, who is also involved in the process, has asked us to send the workers in smaller numbers. Around 750 more handloom workers from Coochbehar are waiting to return to their homes," Kundu said.

Fulia and Shantipur in Nadia district are two major centres of manufacture of saris. More than 90 per cent of the residents of these two areas are associated with the industry. However, most of the workers are from Coochbehar district, officials said. The handlooms were shut following the imposition of the lockdown, rendering the workers jobless and restricted to their small rooms allocated by their owners, they said.

The migrant workers then appealed to their respective panchayat pradhan urging them to take up with district officials the matter of their return to their homes, the officials said.

Shantipur BDO Suman Debnath had received 885 applications from the stranded migrant workers. The district administration took up the matter with the state government, which gave a go-ahead for their transportation back to their homes in Coochbehar district, they added.

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