Over 51,000 stranded migrants brought back to UP by special trains

Over 51,000 stranded migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh have reached the state in 43 special Shramik' trains since the special service was launched in view of the nationwide lockdown to combat the novel coronavirus, officials said on Thusrday.

Thirteen more trains carrying migrants are expected to arrive in different parts of the state by midnight, they 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.

These 43 trains arrived at stations such as Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Jaunpur, Gorakhpur, Pratapgarh, Rae Bareli, Kannauj, Banda, Azamgarh, Barabanki, Sitapur and Unnao. There were 51,371 workers and labourers on these 43 trains, Additional Chief Secretary Awanish Awasthi said.

By midnight, 13 more trains will bring 15,500 migrant workers, he said.

As many as 43 more trains with about 53,000 people from other parts of the country will be arriving from Friday onwards, he said.

So far, the Uttar Pradesh government has made arrangements of 99 trains to bring migrants stranded in different states, Awasthi said.

These trains have brought back migrant workers from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, Telangana and Karnataka, he said