Happy to be home: 1,168 migrants arrive in Bhopal from Maharashtra

A batch of 1168 migrant workers reached Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal by a special train from Panvel in Maharashtra. The labourers, rendered jobless by the coronavirus-induced lockdown were received by a team of health professionals at the Habibganj station.

Bhopal: A sense of relief was palpable among a batch of migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh when they arrived by a special train at Habibganj station here on Thursday from Panvel in Maharashtra.

The special train, carrying 1,168 migrant labourers from Madhya Pradesh, had left Panvel on Wednesday night and reached Habibganj station around noon, said a district administration official.

The migrant workers, who were stranded in Maharashtra because of the coronavirus-induced lockdown, which has rendered them jobless, were warmly received by district officials at the station.

A labourer said I was stuck in Mumbai since the last one-and-a-half months and rendered jobless because of the lockdown. But now I will be able to reach my home.

A team of officials led by Bhopal collector Tarun Pithode along with more than 35 health professionals, including doctors, received them at the station.

After intense medical screening they were provided with water and food, the official said.

"Those arrived here included elderlies, women and children. They were later sent to their respective home districts in buses," he said.

Among them, 452 are from Barwani district, 192 from Dhar, 80 from Chhattarpur, 78 from Shahdol, 67 from Shivpuri, 54 from Umaria, 45 from Agar Malwa, 36 from Sidhi, 26 from Jhabua and 16 from Harda, among other districts, the official said.

After the lockdown, we were stranded in Maharashtra and were unable to go back to our homes. We were rendered jobless and are now facing financial crisis, another labourer said.

Earlier, on May 2, a special train carrying 347 labourers arrived here from Nashik in Maharashtra, while another train from Hyderabad, with 1030 migrant workers, reached here on May 6, the official added.

PTI