Kolkata: A political slugfest has erupted in West Bengal over the death of migrant workers from the state killed in the rail-bridge collapse in Mizoram on Wednesday.
Although the Mizo-ram government is yet to announce the exact death toll, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that of the 35 workers killed in the mishap, 24 were from West Bengal".
However, as per sources on the day of the tragedy, at least 26 workers were killed and two others were injured after an under-construction railway bridge collapsed near mountainous Sairang area of Mizoram.
According to the leader of opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, if the Chief Minister's claims are true, the incident exposes the lack of job opportunities in West Bengal which is forcing lakhs of migrant labourers from the state to travel outside in search of jobs.
“Some of these jobs pose grave danger to their lives. These opportunities are offered to them by middlemen as they provide labour at cheap rates. But the risk always lurks as many of them do not possess the skills required for such jobs. But they are left with no choice as the West Bengal government has failed to create employment opportunities in the state,” Adhikari said.
Reacting to Adhikari's comments, state Minister for Industries, Commerce & Enterprises, Shashi Panja, termed them as totally untrue. “When lakhs of migrant workers were returning home on foot during the Covid pandemic in 2020, the Union government did not have any statistics on migrant workers. West Bengal is the only state which is deprived of Central funds under the MGNREGA scheme.
"The leader of the opposition should know that many workers are associated with the 100-day job scheme under MGNREGA. The Union government has actually forced them to become migrant workers, since no Central funds under the MGNREGA scheme have been provided to the West Bengal government since 2021,” Panja claimed.
She also said that the Union government should first answer why many people are leaving the country, even giving up their citizenship and escaping abroad in search of livelihood.—IANS
