Hundreds of migrant labourers hailing from northeastern States and stranded in the State since the beginning of the lockdown arrived at the Rayanapadu Railway Station to board special trains for their hometowns.
Around 1,550 people who had booked their tickets on the first Shramik Special Train leaving for the North-East were given a warm send-off by Director General of Police Gautam Sawang, Collector A. Md. Imtiaz and senior officials on Sunday night. The train will reach Jirbaum station in Manipur on Tuesday.
DGP Gautam Sawang, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, was delighted to interact with migrant labourers hailing from his home State. “I take a lot of pleasure and satisfaction in sending the migrants back to their home States on a special train,” he said.
Mr. Sawang interacted with migrants from Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya. The migrants thanked the DGP, Collector and railway officials for the travel arrangements.
“I was born in Assam and bought up in Arunachal Pradesh. I did my schooling mostly in Manipur, Tripura and Delhi, and completed college in Chennai. My wife Shilloi Sawang is from Nagaland,” Mr. Sawang said.
The DGP, who is conversant in Assamese, Bengali and Hindi, spoke with many migrants in their language at the railway station, and enquired about food and other arrangements.
“There are quite a few students from Assam, Manipur and Nagaland who are pursuing nursing and para-medical courses in A.P. There are also many employees working in different companies and as security guards. They are known for their simplicity and integration,” he said.
“The migration shows the unity and diversity of our country. I thank Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and the Centre for supporting the migrants and arranging for transportation to reach their home States. Many people from the North-East are still stranded in A.P. at different places and one more train has been planned,” the DGP said.
“I served in Telangana, A.P. and Chhattisgarh and also as United Nations Police Commissioner, but not in my home State. I felt happy to meet the people from North-Eastern States and helping them in the ongoing crisis,” Mr. Sawang said.
