Coimbatore district administration plans to operate six or seven more special trains for migrant workers.
An official said nearly 21,000 workers have returned to their home States since the service was launched here on May 8. The trains were to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Jharkhand and Rajasthan.
The administration initially planned for 18 trains, targeting 20,000 migrant workers employed across the district.
It was estimated that almost one lakh migrant workers are employed in the district in various sectors.
“There are plans for six or seven more trains. Probably another 10,000 workers will be helped to return home,” the official said.
The number of workers from States such as Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh is very less in the district compared to workers from other States.
Hence, the trains will be for States from where there are more workers here. Trains will not be operated to West Bengal or Odisha now because of rains in those States, the official said.
The Salem Division of the Southern Railway operated two Shramik special trains from Tiruppur Junction and one train from Coimbatore for migrant workers on Tuesday.
The 17th Shramik special train from Coimbatore left for Jaipur in Rajasthan on Tuesday.
The train had 24 coaches and could accommodate 1,464 passengers. Around 500 migrant workers boarded the train at Coimbatore Railway Station at around 2 p.m., while the rest boarded the train at Salem Junction. This was the first special train bound for Rajasthan that was operated from Coimbatore.
J. Nirmalson, Deputy Director of Health Services, Salem district, said the passengers were screened before they boarded the train in Salem. Necessary arrangements have been made to provide food to the passengers during the journey, revenue officials said.
According to officials, 347 passengers from eight districts -Salem, Erode, Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai, Tirupattur, Krishnagiri, Sivagangai and Chengalpattu - boarded the train from Salem. Though about 800 persons had initially registered for the journey, only 347 turned up for the travel at Salem.
Railway officials added that the first train from Tiruppur Junction was bound for Sitamarhi in Bihar, which ferried 1,464 passengers in 24 coaches and left the railway station at 2 p.m. The second train, bound for Hatia Junction in Jharkhand, had 20 Linke Hoffmann Busch (LHB) coaches that ferried 1,600 passengers. The train to Jharkhand left at 6 p.m., officials said.
As of Tuesday, eight Shramik special trains - five trains for Bihar and one train for Jharkhand, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh each – have been operated from Tiruppur.
(With inputs from R. Akileish and Vignesh Vijayakumar)