Have taken note of migrants walking on roads, railway tracks with great concern: Govt
New Delhi: The Centre has said it has noted with great concern that migrant workers continue to walk on roads and railway tracks to return to their native places and asked states to ensure that they travel home on the special trains being run for them from various parts of the country.
In a letter to chief secretaries of all states and union territories, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla also sought their cooperation in running more Shramik Special trains for the migrant workers.
Referring to a meeting held by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba on Sunday, Bhalla said, in the meeting, the situation of migrant workers walking on roads and railway tracks was noted with great concern.
"Since their movement by buses and 'Shramik' special trains has already been allowed to enable their travel to native places, all State/UT governments should ensure that migrant workers do not resort to walking on road and on railway tracks," he said.
In case they are found in such condition, the home secretary said, they should be appropriately counselled, taken to nearby shelters and provided with food, water etc. till such time they are facilitated to board the Shramik Special trains or buses to their native places.
Further, Bhalla said, as requested by the cabinet secretary, all state/UT governments should cooperate with the railways in running more Shramik Special trains so that travel of stranded migrant workers is facilitated at a faster rate.
"I urge upon you all to allow receiving of all Shramik special trains without any hindrance and facilitate faster movement of stranded migrant workers to their native places," he said.
Sixteen migrant workers, who were walking back home to Madhya Pradesh were mowed down by a goods train in Maharashtra's Aurangabad last week after they fell asleep on railway tracks.
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AI reshaping music, filmmaking in Kannada cinema
Bengaluru: Artificial Intelligence is slowly changing the way music and creativity are produced in the Kannada film industry, raising concerns among musicians, singers and technicians, The New Indian Express reported on Sunday.
Music composer, actor and director V Manohar reportedly said, AI is being used to write lyrics, especially in low-budget movies. Once lyrics are generated, AI can suggest thousands of tunes. It even asks whether the voice should be male or female. With one click, a complete song is ready.
“If this continues, singers and musicians will have less or no work in the coming days. But it may not succeed either. A few years ago, dubbing was allowed and people could watch movies in any language they preferred. But not many took to it as they wanted to watch a movie in the original,” TNIE quoted him as saying.
According to the report, Filmmaker Avinash U Shetty, a National Award winner, said resistance to new technology is not new. Those who resisted shifting from analogue to digital films years ago have now embraced it. The industry is now using only 10% of the AI potential. If it is scaled up, it can do unimaginable things. What we consider bad now, may not be after five years.
Highlighting the cost advantage, Sangamesh, an independent creator reportedly said, he made a three-minute video using AI for just Rs 4,500. Earlier, the same work would have cost nearly Rs 15 lakh. I finished the entire project in three days. The only expense was the AI software subscription, he said.
These days, it has become difficult to differentiate between the real and AI. AI is creating artistes. Scenes like war, big fights and dance can be shot with a lesser number of artistes. Then with the aid of visual effects and AI, you can achieve what you have in mind, he said.
Actor-director D P Raghuram felt that while AI has made an impact on music, it lacks emotional depth. Cinema earlier involved hard work and strong emotional connections. AI can help improve our work, but creativity should remain human, he reportedly said.
As per the report, earlier, Kannada cinema employed hundreds of junior artistes, who not only earned wages but also shared meals on sets and formed lasting bonds with stars like Dr Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan and Ambareesh. Today, filmmakers fear that increasing dependence on AI could reduce such human connections, turning creativity into just another automated process.
