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Migrant workers, who were stranded in Gujarat due to the closure, fill bottles with drinking water from a container as they wait to board a train that will take them to their home state of Bihar. (Reuters)
The railways started special migrant trains on May 1 after the central government gave its approval for the transport of stranded workers on the rail network during the shutdown.
- PTI New Delhi
- Last update: May 7, 2020 6:26 PM IST
More than 70,000 migrants stranded in Gujarat have been sent home on 65 ‘Shramik Special’ trains in the past seven days, making it the largest movement of workers of any state in the special services running during the national shutdown for combat coronavirus.
According to official data accessed by PTI, the state also has 12 other such services planned, for which it will transport more than 13,000 more workers.
More than 21,000 Maharashtra migrants have been able to return home on 21 of these trains, and it is likely that around 5,000 more will be transported on four of these services that are in the pipeline.
Nineteen trains carrying more than 19,000 workers have left Rajasthan, while 18 trains carrying a similar number have left Telangana in the past seven days.
Authorities said the 24-car trains carry 54 passengers (72 at normal times) on each coach and have a capacity of 1,200.
The guidelines issued by the railroads on the ‘Shramik Special’ trains said that the responsibility for food, health scanning, provision of tickets to the stranded and collection of the fare will rest with the state from which the train originates. . However, it has assumed the burden of providing a meal to passengers whose journey will be 12 hours or more.
The railways started special migrant trains on May 1 after the central government gave its approval for the transport of stranded workers on the rail network during the shutdown.
Previously, the announcement of the coronavirus blockade had resulted in a large-scale exodus of workers from cities to their home states, primarily in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.
So far Uttar Pradesh has received 38 trains, Bihar 37 trains, Odisha 13, Jharkhand 10 and West Bengal two trains.
As of May 8, while Bihar has 13 more planned trains, Uttar Pradesh has 12, Odisha has two, and Jharkhand has a pipeline service.
West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra do not have trains scheduled for the arrival of migrants from May 8, the data shows.
Normally, the national carrier said in the guidelines, ‘Shramik Special’ trains will run at distances of more than 500 km and will not stop at any station before destination.
Amid a political fight over allegations that railroads were charging migrants for travel, the railroads have said they accounted for 85 percent of the cost of operating these trains, leaving 15 percent for the states.
While the railways have yet to issue any clarification on their operating costs, officials say each service is costing the national carrier around Rs 80 lakh.
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