Over 1,200 stranded HP residents return from Mumbai, Goa in special trains

A total of 1,285 people of Himachal Pradesh stranded in Mumbai and Goa due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown arrived at the Una railway station in two special trains on Monday, an official spokesperson said.

The trains reached Una in the early hours of the day, Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Kumar said.

The DC said 697 residents returned from Mumbai and 588 people came back from Goa.

Earlier, 2,128 residents of the state stranded in Goa and Karnataka were brought back on board two special trains. While 642 people came from Bengaluru on May 13, 1,486 people returned from Goa on May 15.

Of the 697 passengers who arrived from Mumbai on Monday, 242 were from Kangra, 169 from Hamirpur, 103 from Mandi, 43 from Bilaspur, 40 from Shimla, 38 from Una, 26 from Chamba, 10 each from Kullu and Kinnaur and eight each were from Solan and Sirmaur, Kumar said.

Of those who arrived from Goa, 146 were from Kullu, 122 from Kangra, 120 from Mandi, 92 from Chamba, 45 from Shimla, 22 from Sirmaur, 19 from Hamirpur, 10 from Solan, nine from Bilaspur, two from Una and one was from Kinnaur, he said.

The passengers were provided water and food packets before being sent to their home districts in Himachal Road Transport Corporation buses, Kumar added.

Superintendent of Police Karthikeyan Gokulchandran, Additional Deputy Commissioner Arindam Chaudhary and Additional Superintendent of Police Vinod Dhiman were present at the station to ensure proper arrangements were in place, he said.

The DC thanked Bhadsali's Radha Soami Satsang Ghar secretary Gurmukh Singh and Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh's Subash Vashith and Dr Hemraj for providing 2,400 food packets to passengers and employees at the railway station.

The returnees will have to remain in quarantine for 14 days, Kumar said.

Upon arrival, a passenger, who hails from Kinnaur district, said she worked at a hotel in Goa and was left with no option but to come back as the establishment had closed in view of the lockdown.

She thanked Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and the state government for making the arrangements that enabled her to return home.