Nearly 1,200 Bihari migrants in Rajasthan to leave for Patna in special train

Nearly 1,200 Bihari migrants stranded in Rajasthan will board a special train from Jaipur to Patna on Friday night.

An official of the North Western Railway said only the migrants identified by the state government will be allowed to board the special train after proper screening by medical teams.

On Friday, the Ministry of Home Affairs gave permission to the railways to run special trains for migrants and those stranded in different parts of the country.

Thousands of migrants were stranded in places across the country since the lockdown was enforced on March 25, many even attempting to walk home hundreds of kilometres away.

"Only those who have been identified by the state government will be travelling in the special train. The migrants will be brought to the railway station by state government officials and they will board the train after screening," NWR CPRO Abhay Sharma said.

He said nearly 1,200 migrants are likely to travel in the train where the seating arrangement will be in accordance with social distancing norms.

The schedule of the next train will be decided as per the requirement of the state government, the official said.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot welcomed the Centre's decision of running special trains to ferry migrants to their native places.