8.5 lakh migrants register in Punjab, 1st Shramik Express chugs off today

LUDHIANA/JALADHAR : The first Shramik Express train carrying around 1,200 migrant workers from the state will leave from Jalandhar railway station to Daltonganj in Jharkhand, nonstop, on Tuesday evening. The train number 04602 comprises 24 coaches, with original capacity of 72 each.

Nodal officer for the state helpline Sumeet Jarangal said a message on SMS will be circulated to passengers who had registered and only those people who get the message will be brought to the railway station. The message would be sent on a first-come-first-served basis for registration.

He said the number of labourers who had registered to go back to their states had increased by around 2 lakh on Monday to reach 8.5 lakh. Ludhiana, Amritsar, Bathinda and Jalandhar City are four stations from where these trains will continue to run for the next 10-15 days.

A source in the railways said Ludhiana was also on track to send a train to Jharkhand on Tuesday itself, but the plan was dropped after the Jharkhand government expressed reservations about receiving two trains in a day.

According to the state government, around 7 lakh labourers want to go back to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, followed by over 11,000 to Jharkhand, around 10,000 to West Bengal and other states, including Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Rajesh Agarwal said it was the responsibility of the state government to conduct screening tests and issue certificates to passengers before they were allowed to board the train. The state government would pay for the tickets and arrange food packets and water bottle for passengers, according to a railway guideline.

Jalandhar olice commissioner Gurpreet Bhullar said, “Any unauthorised person coming to the railway station will be dealt with strictly for violation of the curfew,” the commissioner said.

MEDIA BANNED FROM ENTERING STATION PREMISES

The DRM issued a notice on Monday,

prohibiting the entry of media persons to station premises for the coverage of stranded passengers being transported to different states via Shramik trains.

His order says, “All nodal officers should arrange required photography and video recording of handling and running of Shramik Special Trains. It will be shared through a regular press brief.”

With inputs from Gagandeep Jassowal in Jalandhar