As the Udhampur–New Delhi special train pulled into the capital late Saturday night, its passengers stepped onto the platform not just with bags and belongings, but with exhaustion and uncertainty.
Hours earlier, a ceasefire had been announced between India and Pakistan following weeks of cross-border hostilities. But for many aboard the train – many of them migrant workers and families from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar – it was late.
“We just fled to save our lives,” said Pannu, a construction worker from Jhansi, who had been employed in Pathankot for six months. He was travelling with eight other families from his village, all of whom had left without even collecting pending wages. “There was heavy firing – missiles and drones. We didn’t wait for wages, we just ran. I don’t want to go back.”
The escalation began with the Pahalgam attack on April 22, culminating in Operation Sindoor – Indian airstrikes targeting terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7. A series of attacks followed, pushing tensions to the brink. While Saturday’s ceasefire offered a pause, those who fled say the threat still feels real – and returning is not an option, at least not yet.
“We were climbing down from Vaishno Devi when the blackout happened,” said Manish, a pilgrim from Hathras who traveled with 22 relatives. “We saw drones in the sky. From 9 pm to 2.30 am, the military helped us take shelter,” he said, adding that the group was supposed to return on May 16 but had to leave early on a special train, without tickets, just to get out.
Many on the train were migrant labourers who had been working in Jammu, Pathankot, and Katra. Some had built lives there over years, only to abandon everything overnight.
“I’ve been working there for more than two years. I won’t return until there’s peace – maybe after 10 or 15 days,” said Govind, a construction worker from Madhya Pradesh, visibly relieved to have reached Delhi, even without the wages he left behind.
Some, like Seema, who worked in Jammu for four months, said around 2,000 people in her village in Madhya Pradesh depend on work from the region. “We’re not sure if we’ll return. We’ll think about it…those who have received their wages have returned, but many whose payments are still pending are stuck in Jammu,” she said.
“Now we’ll have to find work in our village to survive,” she added quietly.
Others had no option but to bring their children with them. Jamna, a construction worker from Pathankot, was seen dragging her luggage with one hand while holding her children close with the other. “The shelling terrified the kids,” she said. “Our employers fled. So we had no choice.”
For some, the ceasefire has brought little comfort. A retired army officer who boarded the train from Udhampur with his family said they left early Saturday. “After the bombing in the early morning, we took a train at 11.30 am.”
Students were also aboard the train. Parth Pathak, a BTech student at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, said drone attacks near the campus in Katra caused panic. “It was quite frightening. In Katra, where our university is located, missiles and drones have been intercepted. So, there was panic among students. Upon requesting the Vice Chancellor from students, our exams got postponed and the university helped us evacuate.
Parth is now en route to Varanasi, but uncertainty lingers. “Now we are waiting for any notice from the university regarding new dates for exams and classes.”
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