Second special train leaves for UP with migrants from around Vadodara

TNN | May 6, 2020, 04:20 IST

Thefirst train from Anand district departed on Tuesday

Vadodara: Since the nationwide lockdown was declared in March, Divya Patel, a PhD student at the M S University, was stuck at the girls hostel campus of the university. On Monday midnight, she got a chance to return to Varanasi, her hometown in Uttar Pradesh (UP).
Like many other, Patel, too boarded the shramik special train, a second such train to depart from Vadodara with 1,251 migrants from UP. The second batch of migrants are from Vadodara and three neighbouring districts of Dahod, Narmada and Chhota Udepur.
Vadodara collector Shalini Agrawal was assigned the task to coordinate with collectors of the three neighbouring districts for return journey of the migrants. The train is carrying 655 migrants from Chhota Udepur, 314 from Dahod, 70 from Narmada and 212 from Vadodara district.
“I work with a Bharuch-based company. I reached Vadodara in a bus,” said Ramesh Tyagi. Another migrant worker Ramashankar Kashyap from Chhota Udepur too travelled to Vadodara in a bus.
The Vadodara district administration had coordinated for 48 buses that brought migrants and students like Patel to the Vadodara railway station.
All the passengers first bunderwent the mandatory screening through thermal guns and medical check-up before they boarded the train following social distancing norms.
Agrawal has also coordinated for a third train to Lucknow, UP and is expected to carry 1,200 passengers.