Ahmedabad:
More than 300 Shramik Special trains from Gujarat have ferried around 4 lakh migrant workers to their home states amid the lockdown so far, accounting for 40 per cent of transportation of such people in the country, said officials on Thursday.
With this, out of the total 10 lakh migrants sent back to their respective native places through Shramik Special trains across the country so far, as many as four lakh were from Gujarat alone, they said.
Till Wednesday night, 301 trains carrying around four lakh migrant workers and their family members had departed from different cities of Gujarat, said Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office, Ashwani Kumar.
“Around 10 lakh migrants were sent back to their native places by trains across India till Wednesday. Among these, four lakh were from Gujarat alone.
“We are also hopeful that migrant workers would come back to Gujarat soon to resume their work,” said Kumar in a video message.
Out of 301 trains which had departed from Gujarat till date, as many as 204 trains were for Uttar Pradesh, followed by 34 trains for Bihar, 30 for Odisha, 20 for Madhya Pradesh, eight for Jharkhand, among other states, he said.
Shramik Special trains to transport migrant workers stranded due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown were started following a nod from the Centre early this month.
