6 trains from Karnataka ferry 9,016 migrants home

Bengaluru: Six special trains on Friday ferried 9,016 stuck migrant workers to their respective home states amid the nationwide lockdown, an official said on Friday.

The first Shramik special train and 49th from South Western Railway (SWR) zone left at 4.15 pm with 1,520 passengers for Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, said a SWR zone official.

Friday's second train with 1,530 migrants departed at 5 pm for Bhagalpur in Bihar from Malur on the Bengaluru outskirts.

The third special train departed Chikka Bannavara station for Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh at 6.40 pm with 1,440 migrants.

The fourth train left Malur station for Barauni in Bihar at 7.35 pm with 1,549 passengers.

The fifth train from Chikka Bannavara left for Agartala in Tripura at 8.44 pm with 1,438 migrants.

The last train of Friday left at 9.50 pm from Malur to Koderma in Jharkhand with 1,539 migrants.

The SWR zone has operated 52 special trains so far to transport migrants back home.

The special trains are being run following the Union Ministry of Home Affairs permission for the movement of stranded migrant labourers, workers, students, tourists and others.

Amid the coronavirus scare, the Karnataka government has announced that all inter-state travellers arriving here will be compulsorily placed in institutional quarantine for a fortnight.

"You can stay in government hostels for free or in specific hotels at your own cost. You will not be allowed to go to your homes before 14 days," said an official statement shared by the SWR officials.

To drive home the message to passengers who boarded a special train in Old Delhi railway station for Karnataka on Thursday night, Karnataka Bhavan officials distributed pamphlets in Kannada and English about the quarantine requirements.

Official also sent out text messages to the travellers.

The railway zone has also texted 2.5 lakh people in multiple districts not to walk on the tracks to avoid accidents.