A day after the State government made a U-turn on its decision to keep migrant labourers in the city by stopping three Shramik train service, four trains were operated on Friday to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Hatia in Jharkhand, and Danapur in Bihar. As many as 4,798 people, including seven children, left Karnataka for their home towns.
This time too, migrant workers had to pay a hefty price to go home. Train fares ranged from ₹900 to ₹1,050 (depending on the destination).
In Bengaluru, migrant workers were ferried from different camps to the designated railway station but had to pay ₹130 for a ticket. The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) operated around 200 buses from camps at Whitefield, Chamarajpet, K.R. Market, Kadugodi, Marathahalli, and other areas. At some places such as Chamarajpet, migrant workers gathered in large numbers and maintaining social distance was a difficult task, said officials.
As per the information provided by South Western Railway, the first train left to Lucknow from Chikkabanavara with 1,200 passengers, and the second train left from Malur to Danapur with 1,200 passengers, including seven children. The third train left for Lucknow from Malur with 1,198 passengers. As many as 1,200 people boarded the train to Hatia from Malur station late on Friday night.
