Migrant workers leave for home in trains and buses

All the coaches were disinfected before they boarded the trains

May 13, 2020 11:16 pm | Updated 11:16 pm IST - TIRUPPUR/COIMBATORE

Two Shramik special trains left Tiruppur on Wednesday with a total of 1,464 migrant workers. While one train left for Balasore in Odisha, the other one was headed to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.

The trains had 24 disinfected each. All the passengers were provided with food packets and water bottles by the Tiruppur District Administration prior to boarding the trains, railway officials said. As of Wednesday, four Shramik special trains have been operated from Tiruppur Junction. The first two trains were bound for Muzaffarpur and Hajipur in Bihar.

District Administration officials said that apart from trains, 210 workers were sent in government buses to Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.

Another 242 workers were sent in government buses to Chennai, from where they boarded trains to Mizoram, Sikkim and Meghalaya. Taking all the modes of transport into account, 6,743 migrant workers were sent to their respective hometowns in eight States as of Wednesday, according to the officials.

Coimbatore to Bihar

The tenth Shramik special train for migrant workers was operated from Coimbatore Junction here on Wednesday. The train was bound for Bihar Sharif Junction. With 1,464 migrant workers from various parts of Coimbatore District, the train left at around 4.30 p.m. All the 24 coaches were disinfected and the body temperatures of all the workers was checked before they were allowed to board the train, railway officials said.

The first special train was operated from Coimbatore on May 8. Out of the 10 Shramik special trains, five trains, including the one on Wednesday, was bound for Bihar. Two trains were operated to Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand each and one to Odisha. Several migrant workers who have not registered online but wanted to travel are also accommodated depending on the availability of space, said a revenue official. Since they can travel free of cost, workers who hear about the train facility come to the railway station in groups.

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