Raipur: The first Shramik Special train with over 1,200 migrant labourers stranded due to the novel coronavirus-induced lockdown reached Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh from Ahmedabad in Gujarat at 9:45 am on Monday, said state government officials here.
After medical screening at the railway station, they will be transported to their respective districts in 70 buses specially arranged by the administration, a state public relations department official said.
In keeping with norms in place to fight the novel coronavirus outbreak, the passengers were given masks and hand sanitisers as soon as they alighted from the coaches, and an 80-member medical team was in place to screen them, he added.
They will have to stay in quarantine centres for the next 14 days in their respective towns and villages as a precautionary measure before being allowed to go home, the official informed.
The labourers on board the train belong to Bilaspur, Durg, Janjgir-Champa, Jashpur, Kawardha, Mungeli, Raigarh and Raipur districts, an official said.
As per a statement released by the state government, the migrants thanked the authorities for getting them back home.
It quoted one Pradip Kumar Chauhan, a resident of Korba district working in a brick kiln near Gandhinagar in Gujarat, who arrived with his wife and two children.
"The brick kiln shut down after lockdown was imposed and the owner provided food and shelter initially. However, he refused to do so later which left us worried. I am thankful to the state government for bringing us back home," he said.
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Another 14 such trains are set to run in the next few days to bring back more stranded migrants, he added.
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