Gujarat Completes Labour Migration; special train operations ending today

Gandhinagar: The number of Shramik special trains operated by the Gujarat government to ferry migrant workers to their home states crossed the 1,000-milestone on Sunday, even as operation of special trains will be closed from tomorrow, the Labour and Employment department said.

“Gujarat has run 1,017 special trains, which ferried 15.18 lakh workers home. Gujarat is the first state to complete the task of sending back migrant workers safely to their destinations, thereby minimizing labour distress and unrest due to migration. This was the biggest planned migration by any state in Independent India, and it has been made possible by great teamwork and coordination between district authorities, departments, and various agencies involved,” said Vipul Mittra, additional chief secretary, Labour and Employment department.

Mittra, who is also the state’s nodal officer for transport of migrant workers, students, pilgrims, tourists, and other stranded persons on special trains, said that the number of passengers moved from Gujarat is also the highest in the country.

From more than 40 trains per day until earlier this week, the number declined to 25 on Wednesday, 19 on Thursday, 13 on Friday, and 10 on Saturday.

“Today, we have planned seven trains, and we will be closing the Shramik special trains from tomorrow,” said Mittra.

Official statistics show that of the 15.18 lakh workers who travelled on special trains, the highest 8.20 lakh workers went to Uttar Pradesh, 3.50 lakh to Bihar, and 1.31 lakh to Odisha. Trains were also run to as many as 16 other states including Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.

The statistics also show that Surat witnessed the migration of 6.45 lakh workers, the highest in the state, followed by Ahmedabad with 2.63 lakh, and Rajkot with 1.02 lakh.

Vadodara (56,000), Valsad (55,000), Bharuch (47,000), Kutch (46,000) and Morbi (40,500) are some of the other places from where a high number of workers were ferried.

Top Ten States

State                     Trains                   Passengers

Gujarat                 1,017                    15.18

Maharashtra       800                       11.76

Punjab                  399                       5.14

Delhi                     234                       2.91

Bihar                     227                       2.73

UP                         223                       2.83

Tamil Nadu         208                       2.97

Karnataka            198                       2.83

Telangana           137                       1.69

Rajasthan            119                       1.66

(Source: Railways; Data as of 00:00 hrs on May 31)

 

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