JAIPUR: Two special trains started from Jaipur to send around 2400 stranded students and labourers back to their homes in Bihar and Jharkhand. While one train departed for Ranchi (Jharkhand) from Kota at 1200 hrs on Friday night, another train left from Jaipur to Patna (Bihar) with about 1200 labourers at 12.20 a.m. on Saturday.
It was an emotional affair at the railway station where these migrants were given a warm send off by railway officials and other senior personnel who continued clapping as the train chugged off on its wheels.
Additional chief secretary Subodh Agarwal, who is also the Chairman of the Committee formed to resolve issues of workers and migrants in the state, said that five special trains will be operated daily from Saturday.
He further said that 38,000 labourers and migrants have been sent to their native states so far.
These include 27,000 people from Madhya Pradesh, 6,197 from Punjab and 2,387 from Haryana. Apart from this, 25,259 students belonging to several states including UP and studying in Kota have been sent back to their homes. On Friday, around 200 students of Odisha were sent to their homes by 8 buses.
Officials confirmed that workers registered with the state government will be able to take the Shramik Express trains. These labourers and students have registered through e-Mitra and other means for commuting. Special trains will have a total of 24 coaches. Social distancing will be taken care of, so the middle birth is not allotted, they said.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot meanwhile expressed his happiness on the train services starting to send migrants and stranded students back home. “Now these migrant workers and students can reach home safely. Our state government is continuously coordinating with other states to ensure these people reach safely to their homes,” he said.
Chief secretary D.B. Gupta said that the state government is making all efforts to ensure maximum trains are being run from Rajasthan to send migrant labourers to their home states.
A total of 11.56 lakh migrants and workers have registered online with the state government to go to their native states.
