Special Shramik Express leaves for Uttar Pradesh from Vadodara with 1,209 labourers

The first batch of 1209 migrants from UP who were stranded in Vadodara since lockdown departed from Vadodara Railway station last night at 2:30 a.m.

Vadodara Collector office co-ordinated with UP state administration, Guj Govt Nodal officer, and Railways to arrange this special train to send migrants back to their home.

Medical checkup of all passengers was done to ensure that no one has symptoms of Acute Respiratory Infection, fever, cough, cold or breathlessness. A certificate was issued which was valid for three days and passengers were charged Rs700 for the ticket, few migrants who were not having money didn’t board the train. Passengers were brought to Vadodara Railway station in city bus VITCOS from the Narmada Bhavan and different Mamlatdar Kacheri. On arrival at the Railway station, each person was made to stand in a painted circle ensuring social distance is maintained.

This special train has 24 non-air-conditioned coaches, each carrying 50 passengers to maintain the social distance as per the guidelines of the Government of India.

This was the first batch of migrants sent, another batch will be sent later. Each passenger was given a bottle of water and Namkeen packet for their 22-hour long journey.

For millions of migrants stranded in different cities, Shramik Express is a ray of hope. Even though local administration and NGOs opened shelter homes and provided them with food, the lingering uncertainty meant that everyone had one thing in mind – home.