4,600 migrants leave by ‘shramik special ‘ trains

Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 8

With the list of migrants intending to travel back to their native places swelling with each passing day, Railways today ran four more ‘shramik special’ trains to Saharsa (Bihar), Partapgarh (Uttar Pradesh), Sitamarhi (Bihar) and Daltonganj (Jharkhand), which carried more than 4,500 passengers.

Officials said 1,175 passengers had boarded the train for Shahjahnapur, which departed at 12.15 pm from Ludhiana railway station against the total carrying capacity of 1,200. Another train that left for Sitamarhi at 2.40 pm had 1,188 passengers on board. More than 2,300 migrants were on board the two more trains, which left for Partapgarh and Daltonganj late in the evening.

Railway officials said except for a couple of trains, all other ‘shramik special ‘trains, which left from the city to take migrants back to their native places in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand had gone nearly full to their capacity.

As per the guidelines of the Ministry of Railways, migrant workers registered on the government portal were intimated through SMS by the district authorities. They were taken to the railway station in buses after their medical checkup. Only medically fit persons were allowed to board train, said a government official.

Mood of passengers travelling by the train bound for Shahjahanpur was generally melancholic as they were leaving the city in desperation.

Jameel, along with his two co-workers, all natives of Khagaria town in Saharsa district, had tears in his eyes. He said the city had given them a lot and they had also contributed to its growth sincerely for the last seven years.

“But we were betrayed and left to fend for ourselves right after the lockdown was imposed due to coronavirus. We, somehow, managed for almost a week, but life became a nightmare thereafter. Apne gaon main hum thora kamayenge toh thora kha lenge par rahenge toh apno ke beech (We might earn less at our native place and we might have less to eat, but at least we will be in the midst of our near and dear ones),” were the parting words of dejected migrants, who were leaving the city with a heavy heart.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.