Punjab’s first ‘Shramik Express’ ferrying 1,188 migrant workers departs from Jalandhar to Jharkhand

Punjab’s first Shramik Express left the Jalandhar railway station for Daltonganj in Jharkhand with around 1,188 migrant workers on Tuesday.

The labourers who were finally headed home after over a month’s wait were both excited and emotional.

Those who had enrolled themselves on the state government’s portal were informed of the train’s schedule through an SMS.

Jalandhar police commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said medical teams had screened of all travellers at three points - Khalsa School, Nakodar Road and Guru Nanak Dev University regional campus. Subsequently, they were brought to the railway station in 20 buses. Bhullar said social distancing norms were strictly enforced.

OUT OF SAVINGS, MIGRANTS EAGER TO GO HOME

One of the workers, Manoj Kumar, 25, who was travelling with his wife and two children, said he had come to Jalandhar from Jharkhand in February to work at a factory but had run out of money as the factory shut operations during the lockdown.

“I was left with no savings and was surviving on the ration provided by the government and NGOs. I have been eagerly waiting for the day I will be able to meet my parents again,” he said.

Most migrants said they had run of money and with no source of earning available to them, they wanted to return to their native villages as soon as possible.

Some workers said that they will return to Punjab once the situation normalises.

FACED HARASSMENT

Many of them had to face harassment during the lockdown. A worker, Vikas Kumar, 18, said, “I had to move in with my friends after my landlord chucked me out when I could not pay rent. I told my landlord that I did not have money but he was adamant. I’m glad to be returning home.”

40-year-old Dina Nath said he had been living in Punjab for five years but since the factory he worked at had closed, he had decided to head back home. “I am returning to take care of my family and kids amid the crises”, said Nath.

Kailash Kumar had come to Punjab in January with three friends but as they are out of work, he has decided to return and look for some work closer to home.

PUNJAB GOVERNMENT TO RUN TWO TRAINS FROM JALANDHAR

The Punjab government has written to Ferozepur division divisional railway manager asking him to run one train each to Varanasi and Lucknow from Jalandhar on Tuesday evening.