Migrant labourers leave Mumbai in packed trains fearing lockdown

In the fear of another lockdown, migrant labourers in Maharastra are returning back to their hometowns. Special trains from Mumbai to Gorakhpur, Patna, Darbhanga and from Pune to Danapur have been announced by the railway authorities.

Mumbai: Amid the surge in COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, trains at Mumbai's Lokmanya Tilak Terminus were seen packed with migrant workers as they feared an impending lockdown.

Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam while speaking to media said that lockdown should not be imposed for the second time. It would lead to unemployment. There should be restrictions in place. Now migrant labourers are forced to leave the place, he added.

Speaking to media, a migrant worker who was travelling in Uttar Pradesh bound train said, "This train will go to Gorakhpur. We're leaving the city because COVID-19 cases are rising here."

Taking cognisance of the emerging situation, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam talked to the officials and asked the authorities to allay the fear of the migrants and monitor the COVID-19 situation. He said to the reporters, "Many of them fear that a lockdown will be imposed in the state due to rising COVID cases. However, our state government has no such plans. We do not want businesses or small businessmen to incur losses."

"Many of them have not even got themselves tested for COVID-19 and have boarded the train illegally. We are looking into the situation. However, I can assure you that none of them can return back to our state without showing a COVID negative report", he said.

Another migrant worker told, "We are leaving for our hometown in Uttar Pradesh. As of now, there is night curfew in place. It is very likely that a lockdown will be put in place. To avoid chaos like the previous lockdown, we are travelling back to our native place. Not sure when, whether we will come back here."

Migrants flocked to Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Dadar Terminus and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in huge numbers. Around 4,55,400 labourers have left in the last three days. The reservations for railways on the route to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand are full.

Labourers exit Pune

Similarly, labourers from other states working in Pune too are returning to native places. They said they remembered the painful journey they had to take up last year when means of transport were shut so they were leaving before the situation worsens. They fear that complete lockdown will follow the strict restrictions presently imposed by the government.

Special trains in April

Special trains from Mumbai to Gorakhpur, Patna, Darbhanga and from Pune to Danapur have been announced by the railway authorities. Two special trains will be running on these routes every week but only those with confirmed ticket will be allowed. More than 130 trains leave for destinations around the country from Pune every day. However, only trains destined for Bihar, Patna and Delhi are crowded.

Labourers in other cities face similar crisis

The state government had imposed strict restrictions to control the rising number of cases. Only services with basic necessities will be allowed. This has particularly affected the small businessmen and traders. This has hit the labourers who come to the state in search of work. Labourers in cities other than Mumbai Pune too are affected and those from cities like Nagpur and Nashik too are leaving for native states.

Due to a sharp rise in COVID cases, Mumbai's BMC on Thursday imposed a weekend lockdown in the city until further orders. With 1,26,789 new cases in the last 24 hours, India's active caseload reached 9,10,319 on Thursday.

59,258 recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours in India, taking the cumulative recoveries to 1,18,51,393. The national recovery rate is 91.67 per cent.

Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Kerala and Punjab have shown a rise in the COVID daily new cases. 84.21 per cent of the new cases are reported from these 10 states.

Maharashtra reported 56,286 new COVID-19 cases, 36,130 recoveries, and 376 deaths in the last 24 hours, the state health department informed on Thursday. According to the state government's data, the active number of COVID-19 cases in the state stands at 5,21,317.

Out of 56,286 new COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, 8,938 cases were reported in Mumbai and 12,090 in Pune. The total count of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai now stands at 4,91,698 while the active COVID-19 cases in Pune is mounted to 89,598.

As a sign of relief, the cumulative number of COVID19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 9.40 crore yesterday. A total of 9,40,96,689 vaccine doses have been given, as per the provisional report till 8 pm yesterday.

(With inputs from ANI)