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Another special train brings back stranded Himachal residents from Goa
Teams of volunteers were deployed at the station for screening and distribution of food packets
A Shramik special train ferrying 1,486 residents of Himachal Pradesh who were stranded in Goa reached the Una railway station on Friday morning.
The 24-coach train departed from Goa on Wednesday and was scheduled to reach Una at 3:00am on Friday. However, it was delayed by around 4 hours and arrived instead at 7:00am.
Among the returnees, 415 people were from Mandi; 397 from Kullu; 322 from Kangra; 128 from Chamba; 80 from Shimla; 53 from Hamirpur; 37 from Solan; 24 from Bilaspur; 20 from Sirmaur; 7 from Una, two from Lahaul-Spiti and one from Kinnaur, deputy commissioner Sandeep Kumar said.
The teams deployed at the station welcomed the returnees by clapping. The passengers were made to deboard the train district-wise and were screened for Covid-19 symptoms.
They were also provided hand sanitisers, masks and food packets arranged by the district administration. Besides, teams of volunteers were deployed at the station for screening and distribution of food packets.
The DC said passengers were sent to their home districts in Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) buses. All returnees will be placed under quarantine in their respective district and will be tested for Covid-19.
More than 400 people are still stranded in Goa as there was no space left to accommodate them in the train. They were ferried back to labour camps by the authorities in Goa and the railways may run another train to bring them back to their native state.
On Wednesday, a Shramik special train with around 700 Himachal residents had arrived in Una from Bengaluru. The Railways started running the special train from Goa and Karnataka to Una to facilitate the movement of stranded residents after chief minister Jai Ram Thakur made a request to Union railway minister Piyush Goyal last week.
