The Mamata Banerjee government has decided to set up help desks at several important railway stations across Bengal in order to help migrant workers travelling to other states approach the administration with relative ease to get their grievances redressed.

The decision was taken at the first meeting of the West Bengal Migrant Workers’ Welfare Board which was convened by chief secretary H.K. Dwivedi and attended by a battery of senior state government officials at Nabanna on Friday evening.

A source said the help desks would be set up at important railway stations such as Howrah, Sealdah and Burdwan where tens of thousands of people board trains to travel to various states for work.

The government’s plan is to eventually set up such desks at stations in districts such as Murshidabad, Malda, Birbhum and South Dinajpur, from where a large number of people go to other parts of India for jobs. The help desks will be run by the Government Railway Police.

“Usually, railway stations are accessed by migrant workers who travel to other states. The desks will help us connect easily with those who are in trouble. The family members of migrant workers can also visit the desks in case their people are in trouble in other states,” said Samirul Islam, the chairman of the board and a Trinamul Congress Rajya Sabha member.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had formed the board in March to address issues related to migrant workers.

Although the state has no official database of migrant workers, estimates suggest it has around 22 lakh people who move to other states for work.

During the seventh edition of Duare Sarkar, which will start on September 1, the government will register the names of lakhs of migrant workers across Bengal as part of its plan to prepare an official database of those who work outside the state or the country.

A source said several senior government officials had asked district administrations to lay stress on registering the names of women migrants.

“It is widely assumed that only men go for work in other states. But we have information that tens of thousands of women also travel as migrant workers. On many occasions, women have fallen prey to human trafficking rackets. That is why registration of women leaving as migrant workers is also very important,” said a state government official.

At the meeting on Friday, the board also decided that an office would be set up in Delhi to reach migrant workers across the country and coordinate better with the Centre and other states during emergencies.

“Delhi houses officials from all states of the country and that is why we will set up a dedicated branch of the board in the national capital. The board was formed recently and we are still trying to figure out ways to resolve several issues,” said Islam.