This story is from June 2, 2021

Railways records steady rise in passengers from north

Railways records steady rise in passengers from north
Pune: The Pune rail division is witnessing a rise in the number of in-bound passengers to the city on trains from the north for over a week.
An official said the trend indicated a fair number of passengers were slowly returning to Pune. “The Danapur-Pune Express had 400 passengers, while a train from Gorakhpur ferried 300 passengers. Another trian from Jodhpur had more than 1,000 passengers.
These figures are impressive considering that the incoming passenger traffic had dropped to 100-150 per day ion the past two months,” the official said.
Public relations officer Manoj Jhawar said, “The number of arrivals from the north has started to increase and we expect it to rise.”
Suraj Patel (35), a mason, had returned home to Anuppur district of Madhya Pradesh after the second wave of the pandemic hit and lockdown-like restrictions were imposed mid-April. Patel is now ready to return to Pune.
“My employer has sent me Rs2,000 for travelling expenses and I will be coming back and joining soon,” Patel said.
Munesh Yadav, who returned to Pune from his home in Gorakhpur, said he couldn’t find employment back home. “I tried for a while and then decided to come back. My employer was more than happy to take me back,” Yadav, who works in construction, said.
Last month, Pune-based Pebbles Infratech, the company engaged in the construction of the multi-level parking project at Pune airport, arranged 12 air tickets for specialized construction workers from Jharkhand.
“Presently, there is a shortage of manpower in the construction business and many have left for their homes due to the second wave. This, in turn, has affected projects. We are hoping that they come back soon,” an official with the company told TOI.
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