For ₹8,000, a migrant can catch a bus back home

The services are availed by those who fail to get train tickets

A private bus parked opposite Ripon Buildings. Photo: Special Arrangement

Private bus services have started plying from Chennai Central, helping people stranded in the city during the lockdown to head back home.

The services were started owing to difficulties faced by migrant workers in finding trains. Ticket prices range from ₹7,000 to ₹8,000 per passenger for a trip to States like Rajasthan, Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh.

“We help passengers reach Bihar in three days. We don’t know if the government has approved the journey. The passengers opting for the bus transit are those who are unable to get a train. We help stranded people who are desperate to reach home during the pandemic,” said a driver of a bus parked near Ripon Buildings on Sunday.

Residents of areas such as Sowcarpet have left for their native villages in States such as Rajasthan in buses during the past few weeks. According to estimates, at least 10,000 street vendors have left for their native villages in the past few weeks owing to loss of livelihood.

Many started leaving the city by illegal modes of transit during the pandemic, increasing the risk of COVID-19 spread.

A senior official of the Corporation said the civic body has sent 1.2 lakh stranded persons to other States with the support of other line agencies.

“We are helping IT professionals who lost jobs. The IT professionals contacted civic officials online and wanted to reach their native places. We sent them in trains by following norms of COVID-19 containment. Professionals who are stranded are requested to get help from civic officials,” an official said.