The first special train, carrying around 1,200 migrant workers stranded in Haryana, left for Katihar in Bihar from Hisar Railways Station on Wednesday.
The train will not stop at any in-between station before the destination. According to Railways official, five special trains will run for migrant workers from Haryana to other States on May 7 and 8.
Addressing the people of the State during ‘Haryana Aaj’ programme through live telecast in Chandigarh, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that the State Government is committed to send all migrant workers of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to their home States free of cost by special trains.
He said that it is our responsibility to send migrant labourers to their native places. "Large numbers of migrant workers were involved in harvesting crops. Labourers are the backbone of State's agriculture and industry sectors. It is time of crisis they should not be in hurry to go their homes but try to remain wherever they live. The situation in Haryana is better than other States", Khattar added.
Hisar based district officials said that only those migrants who were involved in agricultural activity will be transported to their home States in the first phase.
Before the journey, migrants were told to assemble at one place, where they were medically examined and provided tickets. Roadways buses were roped in to bring migrants to the Railways station observing all necessary precautions. Around 1200 migrants were allowed to board in the train to ensure social distancing. The migrants were not charged. The state government paid for their fare.
Three special trains will depart on May 7 while two on May 8. The fare of the entire special train has been fixed by the Railways department. Normally 72 passengers are allowed to seat in a coach but due to corona virus outbreak and to maintain the social distancing norms, 50 to 54 passengers were allowed to sit in one coach of the train and total around 1200 passengers were boarded. Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) have been deployed for the safety and security of the passengers in the train. Passengers will be served food on the train itself.
Sources said that there were 50,000 migrants workers involved in agricultural activity in Haryana, 20,000 of whom were from Bihar.
Meanwhile, 221,880 migrants from other States are stranded in Haryana and 62,260 people from the State struck in other States, according to a summary prepared by the State Government. Of the migrants, 69,496 are from Bihar and 31,824 from Uttar Pradesh, they added.