Second special train from Kota carrying 956 students reaches Dhanbad

A second special train from Kota carrying 956 students from Jharkhand reached the Dhanbad railway station on Sunday, a district official said.

The students from 10 districts of Jharkhand stood in circles marked on the platform to maintain social distancing. They were welcomed by senior police and district officials, including Deputy Commissioner Amit Kumar and Senior Superintendent of Police Akhilesh B Wariyar.

These students were stranded in Kota due to the nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus. Earlier this week, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) allowed the states to ferry migrant labourers, students and tourists back home in buses or special trains.

"The special train carrying 956 students from Jharkhand's 10 districts reached Dhanbad late afternoon," the Dhanbad deputy commissioner said.

They were screened by doctors and given food packets by the district administration before being boarded to their destinations.

The students from Dhanbad, Bokaro, Giridih, Koderma, Dumka, Deoghar, Pakur, Jamtara, Sahibganj, and Godda boarded the special train in Kota at 9 pm on Saturday and reached Dhanbad at 3.55 pm on Sunday, railway officials said.

Barring district administration and railway officials, no other person was allowed near the station premises, officials said.

The first train carrying 1,200 students from Kota had reached Ranchi on Saturday night, a day after an equal number of migrant workers reached Hatia railway station from Telangana.