J’khand govt to arrange buses, trains to other states for those stranded

Ranchi: The Jharkhand government will ferry students and stranded migrants to their home states in special buses and trains, top officials in the Hemant Soren government said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, two trains arrived at Hatia station from Tamil Nadu’s Kathpadi junction and Bengaluru. The 06102 special train from Kathpadi arrived at 7.30am with 1,195 passengers, many of them patients from Vellore. The second train, 06555 from Bengaluru, reached at 10.40am with 1,150 passengers.
In a statement, the Ranchi district administration said 91 buses were used to ferry the passengers to 23 districts. “Ambulances and wheelchairs were also arranged for the patients,” it said. While passengers from Tamil Nadu said they were not charged a penny, those from Bengaluru said they were charged between Rs 850 and Rs 1,000.
On Monday morning, the state will dispatch a bus carrying 41 stranded Mizoram residents from the ATI Building complex in Morhabadi. Most of the passengers to be ferried are students. The students were screened for Covid-19 symptoms on Sunday by health officials.
“Buses will be the first to ferry stranded people outside Jharkhand. Besides buses, we will also run special trains to ferry stranded people to their home states. None of them will be charged a penny for their travel. The Jharkhand government will bear all the expenses,” a senior official told TOI on condition of anonymity.
However, the official said the travel plans of the trains will be kept under wraps to avoid possible law and order situations.
Since May 1, special trains and buses are being ferried to bring Jharkhand’s stranded students, migrant workers and patients home. So far, more than 22 trains carrying close to 24,000 people have reached various stations of Jharkhand from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Gujarat and Punjab.
Buses are being sent to Bihar, UP, MP, Odisha, Chattisgarh and West Bengal. So far, close to 14,000 people have returned, sources in the state transport department said.
Another official said, “The trains which are coming to Jharkhand will not be used to ferry stranded people from the state as the MHA protocols do not permit it.” MHA protocols dictate that once terminated at their locations, the trains will return empty to their parent divisions after complete sanitisation of the coaches.