WB steps up migrant distress response

Officials and TMC leaders call a “coordinated and calibrated” approach, the government has rolled out a WhatsApp-only helpline, reactivated district-level migrant welfare cells, and empowered grassroots-level TMC task forces across migration-prone districts to serve as first responders and grievance redressal units

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

With reports of Bengali-speaking migrant workers allegedly being detained and harassed in several Indian states triggering outrage, the West Bengal government and the ruling TMC have launched a multilayered initiative to tackle the crisis with a blend of administrative urgency and political outreach.

In what officials and TMC leaders call a “coordinated and calibrated” approach, the government has rolled out a WhatsApp-only helpline, reactivated district-level migrant welfare cells, and empowered grassroots-level TMC task forces across migration-prone districts to serve as first responders and grievance redressal units.

“The approach is two-pronged. On one hand, the government has launched helplines and activated its administrative machinery to contact officials in other states, while on the other, the party has established multilayered coordination teams, ranging from the grassroots to the district levels. Our workers are constantly in touch with families of migrants, especially in high migration zones,” senior TMC leader and state minister Manas Bhunia told PTI.