Haryana: Shramik train ferries 1,600 labourers to Bihar from Ambala

AMBALA: A sixth Shramik special train departed for Katihar in Bihar from Ambala Cantonment at 2pm on Friday, carrying 1,600 migrant labourers and 27 children to their home state.
Earlier five Shramik trains left for Katihar, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, and Muzaffarpur with 1,188; 1,316; 1,188; 1,296; and 1,212 labourers on May 7, May 8, May 11, May 19, and on May 21 respectively.
The labourers were brought to Ambala from different districts of the state in Haryana Roadways buses and were screened with thermal scanning by health teams before allowing them to board the train.
A labourer Pawan said, “I had come to Ambala for the first time and worked at a factory and I had never thought that I would have to return back due to coronavirus. When the lockdown will open, I will surely return back for work as the officials here have helped in every possible manner.”
Ambala deputy commissioner (DC) Ashok Kumar Sharma reached the station to see off the labourers who gifted toys to the children.
DC Ashok told, “A total of 1,600 migrant labourers and 27 children have been sent to Katihar in Bihar on a Shramik train. Apart from Katihar district, the labourers are from Araria, Kishanganj, Purnia, Madhopur, Saharsha, and Supaul districts of Bihar. Out of these, 875 were sent from Ambala, 183 from Kurukshetra, 92 from Panchkula, and 450 from Yamunanagar district. Twenty-seven children have also been sent, who were given toys as a special gesture. They were provided free train tickets, food packets, juice, water, masks, and sanitizers for their journey till Bihar.”