The Gujarat government has so far sent back 12.28 lakh migrant labourers to their home states onboard 839 Shramik Special trains, an official said on Monday.
This figure will rise to close to 13 lakh by Monday night as more Shramik Special trains are lined up for operation amid the coronavirus-enforced lockdown.
The government has so far arranged 839 trains for migrant workers and another 43 will leave Gujarat by Monday night, the official said.
"Out of the 2,989 Shramik trains operated across the country till Sunday midnight, Gujarat operated 839 trains, and on Monday it made arrangement for 43 more trains, sending a total of 12.96 lakh migrant workers," said Ashwani Kumar, Secretary to the Chief Minister.
"The state government has ensured to arrange safe return of around 12.96 lakh migrant workers through 882 special Shramik trains by Monday," he told reporters.
Gujarat has already operated 839 Shramik trains for 12.28 lakh labourers and additional trains will be operated by Monday night to carry 68,000 more migrants, he said.
Out of the 43 trains arranged on Monday, 17 were for UP, 13 for Bihar, eight for Odisha, three for Jharkhand, one each for Andhra Pradesh and Tripura, Kumar said.
All necessary safety protocols are being observed in these trains in addition to making provision for food and potable water for passengers, Kumar said.
Shramik Special trains were started by the Railways in early May to transport migrant workers stranded due to the lockdown.
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