THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2024
VIBHA VERMA
The three railways at Margao, Thivim and Karmali, amongst the busiest in handling several thousand passengers daily, were left deserted after the pan-India suspension of trains.
The scene from May 8 is back to what the pre-lockdown days were after the Ministry of Railways started special Shramik trains for repatriation of stranded migrants. Close to one lakh migrants from States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and few other regions registered themselves with the Goa government in a bid to return to their native places. With movement of migrants allowed across selective railway stations in the country and Margao, Thivim and Karmali included in the list, these stations have since been busy.
From May 8 till May 22, 30,108 non-Goans largely comprising labourers have been sent back to their home States after strict verification of their documents and health check-ups. In addition to these, several migrants in the neighbouring States have been sent by KTC and private buses arranged by the government.
Registration details in the first week of May indicated that around 18,000 labourers are from Karnataka while 17,000-odd from Uttar Pradesh.
Nodal Officer for the Inter State Movement Kunal (IAS), in joint operation with the districts’ administration, health officials, police and the Railways has been ensuring proper planning and execution of the journey for the stranded population in Goa.
Quite a few from Jammu &Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have also left for their native states during this period. In what is a record set by the State authorities, a whopping 9652 passengers departed in six trains on a single day on Friday, May 22. The mega operation that began at 8 am ended at 11:20pm, after nearly 14 hours.
Besides giving them food packets and water, the officers are leaving no stone unturned to ensure no panic is created during any journey in view of large numbers turning up at the railway stations. On Friday, Kunal posted a video on Twitter wherein IAS Officer Shashank Mani Tripathi was seen announcing in chaste Hindi explaining stranded persons the route to Saharanpur bound train. Those registered with the authorities are being sent SMS or calls informing about their train arrivals.
TRAIN ARRANGEMENTS
On May 23, two trains were arranged for Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nabarangapur, Malkangiri, Balangir, Koraput, Subarnpur, Baudh districts of Odisha at 7 pm from Karmali station while another train for Godda, Deoghar, Dumka districts of Jharkhand has been arranged at 9.30pm.
Data on Shramik Trains
May 8 – Thivim to Gwalior (MP) – 1196 passengers
May 10 – Thivim to Udhampur (J&K) – 1053 pax
May 11 – Margao to Udhampur (J&K) – 728 pax
May 13 – Margao to Una (HP) – 1473 pax
May 15 - Margao to Rewa (MP), Jabalpur – 1464 pax
May 16 – Karnali to Una (HP) – 582 pax
May 17 – Karmali to Haridwar (Uttarakhand) – 1290 pax
May 18 – Margao to Rewa (MP) – 1520 pax
May 19 - Margao to Gorakhpur (UP) –1464 pax
May 19 – Karmali to Raigarh (Chhattisgarh) – 1188 pax
May 19 – Margao to Gorakhpur (UP) – 1463 pax
May 20 – Margao to Lucknow (UP) – 1464 pax
May 20 – Margao to Rae Bareli (UP) – 1520 pax
May 21 – Karmali to Balia (UP) – 1600 pax
May 21 – Margao to Manipur – 817 pax
May 21 – Karmali to Pt Deen Dayal (UP) – 1634 pax
May 22 – Margao to Deoria (UP) – 1628 pax
May 22 – Margao to Pratapgarh (UP) – 1628 pax
May 22 – Margao to Mau (UP) – 1628 pax
May 22 – Margao to Saharanpur (UP) – 1512 pax
May 22 – Karmali to Mirzapur (UP) – 1628 pax
May 22 – Margao to Jaunpur (UP) – 1628 pax
