Guwahati: The Ministry of Railways has announced that more than one million (or ten lakh) passengers have reached their home states via the 'Shramik Special' trains meant for migrants stranded amid the extended lockdown.
Subsequent to the Ministry of Home Affairs order regarding movement of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons stranded at different places by special trains, Indian Railways had decided to operate "Shramik Special" trains.
As on May 14, a total of 800 "Shramik Special" trains have been operationalized from various states across the country and more than 10 lakh passengers have reached their respective home states. It is pertinent to mention here that the trains are being run by Railways only after concurrence is given both by the state which is sending the passengers and the state which is receiving them.
According to the Government 800 trains were terminated in various states like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal.
As per the Ministry , the proper screening of passengers is being ensured before boarding of the train and during the journey, passengers are given free meals and water.
It may be mentioned here that 1,200 passengers can travel in each of these special trains and every Shramik Special train has 24 coaches, each with a capacity of 72 seats.
However, only 54 people are allowed in a coach to maintain social distancing norms and the middle berth is not allotted to any passenger, said the Railways.