Hema Malini meets Governor Maharashtra to help stranded laborers from Mathura

The popular Bollywood actress and the member of parliament from Mathura, Hema Malini today met the governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshiyari and requested him to direct the chief minister of Maharashtra to arrange buses for safely ferrying the stranded migrants and laborers belonging to Uttar Pradesh, especially her Mathura parliamentary constituency free of cost, being represented by her for the last several years.

This is her second term from Mathura as the Lok Sabha member of parliament. She had also represented as Rajya Sabha MP from 2003 to 2009 after having been nominated by the president of India. Having been honored by the coveted Padma Shri award, Hema Malini met the Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari in Mumbai today and discussed at length about the acute problems being confronted by the Uttar Pradesh and Mathura migrants stranded in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra in view of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.

She requested the governor to exert his influence and pressure on the government of Maharashtra by using his good offices to ensure the safe and free of cost transportation of the poor and hapless workers and laborers hailing from UP to reach their respective destinations as hundreds of thousands of the laborers have been facing tremendous problems and hardships like hunger and thus becoming pauper.

Though the government has already announced opening of trains for the eleven states of the country from 12th of May but only those laborers or stranded migrants would be allowed to travel who get tickets via online. It’s quite obvious that majority of the migrant population stranded in Mumbai and Maharashtra from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are in acute financial jeopardy as majority of them have lost their jobs and have become pauper during the last 45 days of the lockdown.

Most of the laborers and their poor and hapless families have become money less and there are reports of thousands of migrant population going to their villages and native places either on foot and cycle rickshaws under the scorching sun hungry and thirsty. There had been several cases of deaths of these migrants while marching several hundred kilometres on foot to reach their respective homes. Reports about several shattered women with their children walking on foot or on cycle rickshaws falling terribly ill on the way have been reported in the media.

In social media several pictures and reports about the badly swollen legs, badly damaged feet have become viral thus describing the extremely sorry state of affairs and tearful plights of millions of the poor and hapless migrant population.

Mathura MP Hema Malini meets Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari to help laborers and migrants from her parliamentary constituency.

The recent death of 16 to 17 laborers who were mercilessly run down by a running train and thereafter three more heading for Madhya Pradesh from Maharashtra sent shock waves all over the country  also unambiguously describes the unending plight of the working class during the lockdown due to dreaded Covid-19 pandemic.

Padma Shree Hema Malini expressed the plight of the stranded migrants in detail and urged upon the governor to use his good offices to help these hapless migrants reach their houses safely through railway transportation free of cost as the union government has already committed to bear the 85% of the railway fares leaving 15% to be borne by the states.

However, it is said the railways are charging from everyone who would travel in these trains from 12th of May which allows those passengers to travel in these trains who would manage to fetch the online tickets obviously on paid fares.

This is ridiculous and ironical as the financial condition of the migrant population having lost employment since the last 45 days’ lockdown have become pauper and banckrupt in almost all the states of the country say most of the stranded sufferers.

While Mathura MP Hema Malini belongs to the BJP, the government in Maharashtra comprises of Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress indirectly guided and controlled by the veteran leader Sharad Pawar.

This government was formed after the Congress and NCP supported the one time BJP friend Shiv Sena’s chief Udhav Thackrey, now an arch rival, who finally became the chief minister of Maharashtra. According to sources, the Governor, Bhagat Singh Koshiyari gave a patient hearing to Hema Malini and assured of all possible assistance and support in this regard.