GUWAHATI, May 10 - The first two Shramik Special trains, bringing people stranded in other parts of India, to the North East are expected to reach this region within two or three days.
These will be the first such trains to arrive in this part of the country.
�Two Shramik Special trains, one headed for Tripura and another for Manipur, will reach the respective states with stranded people of those states in the next two-three days,� said Subhanan Chanda, chief public relations officer (CPRO) of the Maligaon-headquartered Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).
The train to Tripura will originate from Bengaluru, while the train to Manipur will depart from Chennai.
Around 1,000-1,200 passengers are expected to arrive on each of the trains.
Chanda said the Shramik Special trains are operated only on receipt of requests from the respective state governments by observing the guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
While NFR has operated several Shramik Special trains in various parts of the country during last week, these will be the first such services to the northeastern states.
Another six Shramik Special trains will reach various stations of Bihar, located within the jurisdiction of the NFR, in the coming two or three days.
�Till today, 21 Shramik Special trains have reached the NFR zone with nearly 25,000 people, comprising mainly students, patients and migrant labourers with their family members. Out of the total 21 trains, 10 have arrived at Katihar, seven trains have arrived at Purnea, three at Arariya, and one has arrived at Kishanganj stations with stranded people from various parts of the country including Kozhikode, Kota, Jaipur, Nandurbar, Hisar, Surat, Vadodara, Bharuch, Ghatkesar, Ludhiana, Ambala, Aligarh, Rohtak, Kalyan, Bhiwani, Jalandhar and Bengaluru,� Chanda said.
�All the passengers were from various districts of Bihar and received by respective civil administration of Bihar at the railway stations after following all necessary COVID-19 protocols. The stations concerned were properly barricaded by deploying adequate Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police (GRP) and local police personnel to prevent the entry of unauthorized persons. All passengers were guided by RPF and GRP personnel in queues after de-boarding from the train for proper screening by Bihar government officials by maintaining social distancing and later they were accommodated in buses for dispatch to their respective districts,� he said.
Manipur and Tripura are also expected to follow the same protocol when the Shramik Special trains reach the two states.
Indian Railways started the Shramik Special trains from May 1 to move migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons stranded at different places due to the lockdown as per guidelines issued by the MHA.
These special trains are running from point to point on the request of both state governments concerned as per the standard protocol for sending and receiving such stranded persons. Only those persons enlisted by the state governments concerned and brought to the station can travel on these special trains and no individual shall come to any railway station on their own.
