Over 15 lakh migrants have arrived in UP by ‘Shramik Special’ trains: Official

Over 15 lakh migrants hailing from Uttar Pradesh, who were stranded in different parts of the country due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown, have returned to the state in 881 trains since the ‘Shramik Special’ service was launched, an official said.

The railways had started the migrant special trains on May 1 after the central government gave its approval for transportation of stranded workers on the railway network during the lockdown.

In the next two days, 313 more trains carrying migrant workers will arrive in various districts of Uttar Pradesh, Additional Chief Secretary, Home and Information, Awanish Kumar Awasthi, told reporters here.

He said, "881 trains have arrived in the state with over 15 lakh migrants. In next two days, 313 trains are likely to arrive. Till now, over 20 lakh migrants have arrived in the state on trains, buses and by other means of transports.”

Of the total special trains run in the country, 50 per cent were for Uttar Pradesh, Awasthi said.

The additional chief secretary also said of the total trains that have reached Uttar Pradesh, the highest 142 arrived in Gorakhpur besides 64 in Jaunpur, 62 in Lucknow, 50 in Varanasi, 51 in Gonda, 41 in Basti, 38 in Pratapgarh, 34 each in Ballia and Prayagraj, 10 in Agra and 27 in Ayodhya and other stations.

The highest 355 trains have arrived in the state from Gujarat, 144 from Punjab, 28 from Rajasthan, 181 from Maharashtra, 33 from Karnataka, 36 from Delhi, he said, adding that over two lakh people are coming to the state each day.

"We are taking it as a challenge and our district magistrates are working day and night to receive migrants, who are being tested (for the novel coronavirus) and those with symptoms are being isolated. We have got 70,000 to 1 lakh migrants in many districts," he said.

The official said after their home quarantine is completed, the state government “will be providing them jobs as per their skill, data of which is being collected”.