The much awaited order by the Union Home Ministry on April 29 allowing movement to the stranded population across the country is of much relief to the agony of those suddenly rendered helpless. The action has infused a sense of jubilation and created a ray of hope of union with their families among lakhs of people belonging to different states spread and stranded throughout the country.
The guidelines are broad and generic in nature and much has been left to the states/union territories to formulate the modalities and procedure for a grand transit movement of huge population from one state to the other.
Based on these directions of the centre, the states have activated their machinery to implement the ‘Operation Transit' in their own way and they have started to register their natives across the country who intended to return to their respective states/UTs.
J&K Union Territory Administration was prompt in appointing a chief nodal officer to design, start and implement the instructions who in turn appointed other three senior officers for the purpose.
A circular, notifying the separate Online Registration Links and Helplines phone numbers for Students, Workers and others was issued to begin the process.
The Home Ministry order, however, did not specify whether a person or a family can travel in a private vehicle, and if allowed, under what conditions.
“Due to lockdown, migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons are stranded at different places. They would be allowed to move,” he said in an order issued to all states and union territories.
The observation of this exercise reveals many loose-ends to be tied fast. It seemed unfair as found one sided, i.e. for students, workers and other citizens of Jammu and Kashmir stuck up outside and not for the Non-native workers/students of other states stranded in J&K. There confusion casting shadows as such information has not reached many people outside which is clear from the flood-load of phone calls to government offices and messages on twitter handles of Deputy Commissioners and UTs Spokesperson.
Though many students, workers and others for inward journey have reportedly uploaded their requests online, yet a large number of these suffering individuals express common complaint of UT's Nodal Officers and Facilitation Officers being non-communicative. People are expressed that the notified telephone/mobile lines were not responding or beeping busy tones.
Similar are the complaints from the Inter-State Migrant Workers and other persons that no specific and clear information were available to them form any of the offices from the DCs, Labour Officers and Nodal Officers as nobody responded their calls. The situation of is of such magnitude that many migrant labourers expecting to go back to their native places gathered around the Labour Commissioner's office here in Jammu today, putting their lives at risk just to seek information on going back home.
The situation has caused severe anxiety among the persons stranded inside/outside of Union Territory and their families at home.
So, the J&K UT should come clear on issue and should take this challenge to formalise the process of reaching which should be simple, accessible and executable with minimum agony to those in despair either in J&K or outside
