Bus Journey for Odia migrant worker from Surat to Odisha

Odisha’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has directed that Odia migrants who want to return from Surat in Gujarat will be permitted to do so only if they travel by train. The order came after transportation of 230 buses, three accidents and two confirmed deaths. Excluding accidents, Patnaik’s declaration, which was issued while chairing a review meeting on COVID-19 situation, was also prompted by the challenges that travellers, especially women and children, had to face during the over 1600 km road trip by bus.

Chief Secretary AK Tripathy had stated that about 87 buses had been registered to bring back migrants to the state, but with the new orders from the CM Patnaik, the rest of the bus journeys will now be cancelled.