2,400 workers, students leave Jaipur, Kota for Patna, Ranchi in two trains

Jaipur: After getting the nod from the Centre, the state

government

and the

North Western Railway

(NWR) arranged for two special non-stop

trains

to Patna and Ranchi from Jaipur and Kota, respectively, to take stranded migrant workers and students to their native states. Both these trains, which are expected to leave late on Friday evening, will carry 1,200 passengers each from Jaipur and Kota. A special cell formed by the state government held a meeting with NWR authorities to discuss the modalities and arrangements for the trains.

‘Food arranged on two trains’

Jaipur: “We are sending one train to Patna from Jaipur and one to Ranchi from Kota. In both these trains, we have arranged for food packets to be delivered to passengers. We have also asked railways to ensure social distancing,” said Ravi Jain, transport commissioner who is coordinating the trips with NWR authorities, to TOI.

“Every coach has a sitting capacity for 72 passengers. However, we will only allow 50 passengers in a coach. We will not allow them to sit and sleep on the middle berth,” he said.

On Saturday, two more trains are expected to depart from Kota and one from Ajmer. “We are working to decide to which states these trains will run," Jain said.

Migrant workers, mainly from Nagaur and other parts of the state, were brought to Jaipur to board the special train. “Proper disinfectants have been sprayed. Thermal screening of every passenger will also be done. It is also compulsory for them to wear a mask,” said a senior NWR official.

According to sources, there are still about 17,000 students stranded in Kota who belong to Jharkhand, Delhi, Odisha and other states. The state government has already sent more than 22,000 students to their respective states.

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