Unlock 1.0: Shramik trains from Chandigarh see more vacant seats

CHANDIGARH: With businesses and industries opening up in the city as the first phase of the country’s unlocking process begins, migrant labourers seem more willing to stay back rather than going home on the special Shramik trains.

More than 98,000 people had registered with the Chandigarh administration expressing their wish to go back to their home states. “But now, a considerable number of migrant labourers are not interested in moving out as industrial and commercial units have resumed operations,” said Yashpal Garg, UT’s social welfare secretary who is also the nodal officer for management of migrant movement, particularly on special trains, from the city.

Due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, which came into effect from March 24, several businesses in the city were shut, leaving the migrant workers jobless and eager to go home.

So far, the Chandigarh administration has sent 27 trains on its own and four in coordination with other states. One day before the scheduled departure of the train, telephone calls are made to registered persons asking them to reach the Holding Centre set up in Sector 26 for medical screening before they are allowed to board the trains. One more train is scheduled to leave on June 5.

“On Tuesday, about 10,000 persons were contacted through telephone calls and SMS for the train leaving for Mau, Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. Though capacity of the train was 1,600, only 1,300 passengers turned up, with 300 seats going vacant,” added Garg.

For the special train set to leave on June 5, as many as 6,000 phone calls have already been made but only 800 migrants have booked their tickets so far. “Even though 800 people have booked their tickets, we are not sure if all of them will turn up. This trend has started only since the fourth phase of the lockdown. Earlier, trains ran to their full seating capacity,” he added.

Dr Vinod Kumar Chaudhary, professor, sociology, Panjab University, said, “People who are assured of stable income are the ones want to stay back now when the businesses are opening up. These include skilled and semiskilled workers. Unskilled are still leaving.”