1.7 lakh return to Bihar by 98 trains

PATNA: Altogether 1.7 lakh migrant workers and people stranded in Delhi and nine other states reached Bihar by 98 Shramik special trains on Wednesday.
Since May 2, nearly 15 lakh people have come back to different places in the state falling under the jurisdiction of the East Central Railway (ECR).
“With 30,000 migrants, 21 trains from Nanded, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus-Mumbai, Lokmanya Tilak-Pune, Bandra and Panvel in Maharashtra reached Araria, Bettiah, Darbhanga, Gaya, Madhubani, Motihari, Patna and Purnea on Wednesday,” ECR’s chief public relations officer (CPRO) Rajesh Kumar said.
Similarly, 14 special trains from Udhna, Surat, Mehsana, Gandhidham and Vapi in Gujarat returned to Ara, Barauni, Bettiah, Biharsharif, Buxar, Kishanganj, Madhubani, Purnea, Samastipur and Supaul with 23,000 migrant workers and other stranded people.
“Six trains from Bengaluru and one from Hubli in Karnataka carried 10,000 people to Araria, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur and Purnea,” the CPRO said.
While 7,000 people stuck in Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaipur, Udaipur and Sikar in Rajasthan reached Ara, Kishanganj, Motihari, Muzaffarpur and Nawada, nine trains from Karmanasa, Dadri, Saharanpur, Jalalpur and Dankaur in Uttar Pradesh arrived at Araria, Danapur, Katihar, Motihari, Muzaffarpur and Saharsa.
Nearly 18,000 migrants from Delhi reached Araria, Bhagalpur, Katihar and Purnea. “While five trains from Delhi reached Bhagalpur, three others reached Purnea on Wednesday,” the CPRO said, adding special trains from Ambala, Hisar and Gurgaon in Haryana carried about 7,600 migrant workers to Araria, Bhagalpur and Jehanabad.
Two special trains from Katra in Jammu and Kashmir reached Banka and Motihari and two others from Chennai came back to Darbhanga and Madhubani.
“Besides, trains originating from Danapur, Buxar, Barauni, Gaya and Gopalganj ferried about 30,000 migrant workers to different places in the state,” Kumar said.
According to Danapur’s senior divisional commercial manager Adhar Raj, the railways is distributing food, snacks and water bottles among the returnees at different places in the division. “About one lakh food packets have been given to the migrant workers so far,” he said.