The first Shramik Special train from Delhi, carrying stranded students, tourists and migrants, arrived at Yeshwantpur Railway Station in Bengaluru around 8 a.m. on Sunday. It had 182 passengers.
According to officials at Karnataka Bhavan, New Delhi, around 960 people from the State boarded the train in Delhi, which reached the city via Hubballi and Kalaburagi, where many of them alighted. As it was a special train, passengers were transported for free.
An official told The Hindu that the Central Warehousing Corporation had agreed to sponsor food for all the passengers.
Thanking officials of Karnataka Sangha, New Delhi, for facilitating the journey, Chikkanna Krishnappa, who was stranded in the national capital for almost two months, said that while boarding the train at Old Delhi, there was chaos as many empty coaches were shut and people were led into a few others by the police and railway officials there.
“We said we would not board the train until the empty bogies were opened. They finally opened a few of them,” he said, adding that maintaining social distancing inside the train was possible to an extent.
Another traveller said that testing was not done properly before the migrant workers were allowed to board the train. “We were tested and given certificates, and but many workers were not tested,” the passenger said.
Costly quarantine
Those who have been put under mandatory institutional quarantine said the food available was expensive. Tushar N., a student, said they had to pay around ₹300 for food, apart from the room rent. “Most of us here are ordering on food delivery apps,” he said.
“We were informed that food would be provided. But here it is different. We were also not given any choice of quarantine centres as well,” he added.
People also claimed they were charged ₹100 each to be transported to the quarantine centres from the railway station. “I opted for a quarantine facility near BEL Circle, which is close to Yeshwantpur station. But they charged us ₹100 each. That is too high a price,” a student said.
Meanwhile, another special passenger train carrying 383 passengers to Bengaluru arrived at Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station at 6.50 a.m. Passengers were sent to institutional quarantine, sources in the Railways said.
