Rajdhani Express special train, which started its journey from Delhi on Wednesday during lockdown reached Ranchi Junction on Thursday morning. A total of 897 passengers reached Ranchi by this train. The passengers on their arrival to their home state were happy. The passengers reaching Ranchi Junction were greeted with roses. The Ranchi district administration had made elaborate arrangements for the occasion.
The passengers who were struck for more than 50 days due to lockdown necessitated to break the coronavirus chain on reaching State Capital were screened with thermal scanner. The passengers on their arrival at Ranchi Junction were asked to follow social distancing. The Ranchi district administration had also arranged buses facilities for dropping the passengers to their destinations. There were many passengers who prefer to use their own vehicles for reaching homes.
At the same time, passengers had to face many difficulties in going home from station. Although the administration had arranged buses and cabs for passengers’ convenience, vehicles were not available for several places. Passengers claim that some cab drivers were demanding Rs 14 per kilometer.
People claim that some cab drivers were asking for higher fares. Sources said that some drivers were demanding Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 from Ranchi to Palamu.
The Rajdhani Express which reached Ranchi in the morning left for national Capital in the evening. The Ranchi district administration had asked all the passengers to reach station three hours before the scheduled departure for screening and medical test of passengers. Only asymptomatic passengers were allowed to board the train.
Meanwhile, another Shramik special train carrying 1139 migrant workers struck in Karnataka reached Hatia station. Sources said that more than 26,000 migrant workers have been brought back on more than twenty special trains from across the country since May 1.
The Ranchi district administration had made elaborate arrangements for passengers reaching Hatia station. The passengers on their return to their home state were welcomed with roses. Food packets and water bottles were given to each migrant worker. Each migrant worker body temperature was measured through thermal scanner and then only they were given seats to buses. Senior officials from railway and district administration were at Hatia station to ensure that passengers coming out from railway stations were maintaining social distance.
As the district administration had arranged separate buses for different districts it was also ensured that social distancing was also maintained at buses. The district administration had arranged 53 buses for ferrying migrant workers. Like other days on Thursday morning too, the maximum passengers were from Garhwa district. There were 227 labourers for Garhwa district followed by Giridih where 214 labourers while for Palamu district there were 115 labourers.
On May 1, a ‘Shramik Special’ train carrying 1200 migrant labourers of Jharkhand reached Ranchi. The train – first in the country following enforcement of lockdown to contain COVID-19 spread reached from Lingampalli Railway Station in Telangana.