After a long wait, many migrant labourers who were stranded in different cities are now gradually returning home, and “Thank you”, is all that they want to say to the government.
The Ministry of Home Affairs on May 1 allowed the Indian railways to operate special passenger trains to ferry stranded migrant workers and others back to their homes. As per the MHA order, the railway ministry is running special ‘Shramik Trains’ after coordinating with states and Union territories for the movement of the people.
The first labour special train carried 1,225 labourers stranded in Telangana to their homes in Jharkhand. The Jharkhand government welcomed the workers with flowers at the Hatia station in Ranchi.
Rajendra Ram, a labourer who arrived in Palamu in Jharkhand, said: “I am coming from Secunderabad. The district administration had arranged it all very well, so, thank you!”
Another young labourer, who arrived in Jharkhand by this train, said: “I feel greatly relieved that I have reached my home. At one point in time, it felt as if we would never be able to reach home. We thank the Jharkhand government that we could return. Now, we will be able to meet our parents.”
Meanwhile, labourers have started returning home from other states as well. The special trains are running from Hatia in Jharkhand to Lingampally in Telangana, Aluva in Kerela to Bhubaneswar in Odisha, Nasik to Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, Jaipur in Rajasthan to Patna in Bihar; and Kota in Rajasthan to Hatia in Jharkhand.
The government might run more trains for the trapped labourers, students, tourists and pilgrims at the behest of the states.
A train carrying 347 migrant labourers from Nashik railway station in Maharashtra reached Bhopal railway station in Madhya Pradesh. The sub-divisional magistrate said: “All passengers have been declared fit after health check-ups. They are proceeding to their respective districts where they will be tested yet again.”
Another train from Nashik was sent to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. Around 800 migrant labourers returned to their state by this train. Similarly, another train has been rushed to Lingampalli railway station in Kerala from Hatia In Jharkhand for carrying about 1,200 migrant labourers.
Railway officials are trying to take full care of social distancing among migrant workers as per the guidelines received from the Ministry of Railways. This was evident at the railway stations where the passengers were allowed to move only one by one by chalking out circles on the platform.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has requested Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to run 12 special trains on various routes to bring back the people in the state. This can be a major relief measure from the government over the return of migrants trapped in the lockdown.
Migrant labourers are also returning home through buses. In Karnataka, a large number of migrant labourers gathered at Kempegowda bus station in Bengaluru. “Today we are planning to operate about 100 buses based on migrant labourers coming to the bus station here. Our passenger capacity is 55, but we are only taking in 30 passengers after health checkup,” said the central traffic manager of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC).
