Special trains bring home migrants, broke and anxious about survival

LUCKNOW: As many as five ‘

Shramik

Special’ trains brought back 5,915 migrant labourers stranded in states like Gujarat and Maharashtra to several cities in the state, including Jaunpur, Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Kanpur. While one train reached Jaunpur late Monday night, others arrived on Tuesday.

Two Shramik Special trains arrived in Lucknow on Tuesday with 2,400 migrant workers and their families from Maharashtra and Gujarat. A majority was forced to pay for the journey, but their biggest worry was survival without any source of livelihood after reaching home.

The first train came in the morning from Vakola in Maharashtra with 1,199 passengers, who were all sent to their native districts on state-run buses after thermal scanning, baggage sanitisation and recording address. They were also given food packets.

The same drill was followed in the evening when a train from Vadodara brought 1,224 passengers. Most workers said, they had set out for UP on foot, but were stopped and sent to quarantine centres by local authorities where they stayed for over 30 days before boarding the train.

Aakash Kumar

, who worked as a helper in poultry production factory in Vakola, said, “I am happy, I will finally be home. But with no job, the burning question is how will we survive,” he said. Amit Keserwani, another worker, said “I was left with no money, hence called a relative in the village and requested him to deposit Rs 1,000 in my account. It was only then that I paid Rs 560 for the railway ticket.”

Shiv Shankar

, a Jaunpur resident, who sold fruits in Vadodara, said he paid Rs 700 for the ticket. Some students also arrived from Gujarat in a special train. Karunesh Dubey, a Gorakhpur resident, was accompanied by eight friends, said when lockdown was announced, they were stranded in a hostel.