1,200 migrants leave for Bihar on 2nd special train from Delhi

The first such train had left Delhi on Thursday, taking 1,075 stranded migrants back to Madhya Pradesh. In both cases, the Central government paid 85% of the ticket price.

Around 1,200 stranded migrants — men, women and children — left for their homes in Bihar from the New Delhi Railway station in a second special train arranged by the Delhi government on Friday afternoon.

Migrant workers in New Delhi have their documents checked at Yamuna Sports Complex before they board a transit bus which will ferry them to a Shramik Special train headed for Bihar on Friday. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

The train, senior government officials said, was headed to Muzaffarpur in Bihar, where it is likely to reach by Saturday evening. It will travel non-stop.

The first such train had left Delhi on Thursday, taking 1,075 stranded migrants back to Madhya Pradesh. In both cases, the Central government paid 85% of the ticket price. The remaining was paid by the destination state (Madhya Pradesh) in case of the first train, and the origin state (Delhi) for the second train, a senior Delhi government official said.

In the next couple of days, more such special trains are likely to leave for Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

“The future is uncertain,” said Jai Kishan, a 20-year-old daily wager from Bihar’s Arah. Asked why he wanted to return home when the government had eased the lockdown and allowed people from certain sectors to restart working, he said, “I have to go home to see my mother and three sisters. I am the only breadwinner of the family… I have not been able to send money and they have run out of whatever savings they had. Right now, I can’t think of anything else.”

Back in the village, he said, he has a small patch of land for farming. It is the time of harvest and he was anyway supposed to go home at this time, but had been stranded due to the lockdown. “I will think of other livelihood alternatives later… I don’t feel like coming back but, if need be, I will have to come again,” said Kishan, wiping his forehead with his scarf as the high temperature on Friday contributed to the discomfort for the travellers. But, most of them said that now that they were headed home, nothing bothered them any longer.

Mohammad Amir, 29, who was a mason in a factory till recently, said the last one-and-a-half months have been very tough on him. “Earlier, we used to earn and have our meals with dignity. Here at the shelters, food is distributed to us like we are prisoners… I won’t come back now.”

When the news broke about Friday’s train to Bihar, scores of migrants rushed to the station to get reservations done. However, they returned disappointed later on learning that it was under a state arrangement and one had to apply for the process. The news was circulated widely on WhatsApp which give them hope, said several migrants whom HT met at the New Delhi Railway station on Friday.

Around 10,000 stranded migrants in Delhi, out of around 18,000 who are currently staying in shelters and temporary government-run centres are learnt to have applied under the government initiative that aims to enable inter-state movement of stranded people through buses and trains as per Union home ministry guidelines

A senior government official said, a large number of migrants decided to stay back, as of now, in the light of industrial and construction activities restarting to some extent this week .

Delhi is also in talks with other states that include Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha, the official said.