4,678 migrant workers leave for Bihar in special trains from Greater Noida

A total of 4,678 migrant workers from Bihar embarked on a journey to their hometowns on four special trains from Greater Noida on Saturday, officials said.

Two of the trains left from the Dadri railway station to Aurangabad and Sasaram, while the other two from the Dankaur railway station to Buxar and Siwan, the officials in Gautam Buddh Nagar said.

"Total 4,678 migrant workers were on board the trains. Around 978 of them left for Aurangabad, 656 for Buxar, 1,524 for Sasaram and 1,520 for Siwan," according to a statement from the district administration.

The decision to arrange transport and send back stranded migrant workers is in compliance of an Uttar Pradesh government order, it said.

District Magistrate Suhas L Y, Nodal officer for COVID-19 response Narendra Bhooshan and Police Commissioner Alok Singh spearheaded the operation, it added.

Passengers were screened at the station using thermal sensors by the district health department officials, the administration said.

The trains were sanitised and passengers were made to follow social distancing measures before getting on board the trains, the officials said, adding that they were also provided with meal packets and water for the journey.

Thousands of workers and daily wage earners in Noida and Greater Noida were rendered jobless ever since the lockdown came into force to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission.

Gautam Buddh Nagar district adjoining Delhi in western Uttar Pradesh has recorded 247 positive cases of coronavirus, including five deaths till Saturday, according to official figures.