The excitement was palpable at Anantapur railway station among 1,500 migrant labourers from Uttar Pradesh as they boarded the first Shramik Train on Monday evening.
Police personnel, wearing protective gear, guided a small batch of 25 persons on to the platform and asked them to wait in the squares drawn on the platform to maintain social distancing.
All these persons were either working in the district or were spotted by the district administration officials while they were walking on National Highway-44, from Bengaluru to Gorakhpur (most of them).
Food and water was arranged for them, said District Collector Gandham Chandrudu, adding that the State government would foot the travel bill. On Tuesday, another batch of 1,500 persons would be sent by train to various destinations in Bihar.
