Shramik train run late by 10 hrs, no food, water facility; migrants protest on tracks

After inordinate delays and being served rotten foods migrants workers travelling on ‘Shramik special’ trains to eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar blocked railway tracks and raised slogans against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

They claimed their train was held up at the outer signal of the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya railway junction near Bihar for over 10 hours and also complained of unhygienic conditions on board.

“The train came here last night at 11 pm and is standing here since. We have got no food for two days. We were forced to pay ₹1,500 each for this journey,” said Dhiren Rai, one of the passengers.

In a similar incident, another train from Panvel in Maharashtra to Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur was held up near Varanasi for over 10 hours.

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Visuals from the place showed angry migrant workers sitting on railway tracks and refusing to move despite another train approaching them. They left only after the railway police intervened and everyone on board was given a meal. The train later resumed its journey, reported NDTV.

“We got food in Maharashtra but we got nothing in Uttar Pradesh. The train was held up in Kashi (Varanasi) for 7 hours, then it moved and was held up again for 2 hours. Later it moved and is stuck again,” said Govind Kumar Rajbhar.

Claiming the food served to them was rotten, migrant workers on board a “shramik special” train going from Gujarat to Bihar threw away the food Kanpur junction on Friday.

Later, the migrants were seen asking the railway security personnel why they are subjected to inhuman treatment.

“There is no water even in the toilets. What should we drink. The pooris served to us are very tight as if they were cooked four or five days ago, that is why we threw away all the food,” one of the migrant workers told journalists at Kanpur.

After their train made an unscheduled stop at Unnao the passengers heading from Bengaluru to Bihar smashed window panes at a platform complaining about lack of food and water arrangements.

Unnao District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar, acknowledging the incident said that proper arrangements will be made so that migrant workers don’t face any problem.

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“We have directed station master to make adequate requirements for water at all platforms. Will ensure that passengers don’t face any problem,” he said.

The Railways has been operating Shramik Special trains since May 1 for migrant labourers who were stranded in different parts of the country amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown.