Nearly 30,000 stranded people mainly students and migrant labourers of all the northeastern states with their family members reached native places till Saturday amid Covid-19 pandemic by Shramik Special trains.

The chief public relations officer of the Northeast Frontier Railway, Subhanan Chanda, said 22 such trains arrived in the different locations of Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura with these people belonging to all the states in the region. “Another 23-24 trains will be arriving in the next few days,” Chanda added.

Moreover, a few Shramik Special trains also left from the region with stranded persons to states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Goa and Karnataka. “Passengers were given free meals, water and necessary medical help by the railways as and when required during the journey,” Chanda said.

The Indian Railways has already operated more than 2,600 Shramik Special trains and transported more than 36 lakh passengers across the country till Saturday. The plying of these trains started on May 1.

475 returnees arrive

At least 475 people returned to Mizoram by a special train from Telangana on Sunday, an official said.

The returnees arrived around 8.40am at Bairabi station, from where they were picked by 32 buses to their respective districts after being screened, he said.

Of the 475 people, who returned from Telangana on Sunday, 216 belong to Aizawl district, 30 to Lunglei, 29 to Serchhip, 40 to Kolasib, 41 to Champhai, 35 to Siaha, 22 to Mamit, 23 to Lawngtlai, 12 to Saitual, 25 to Khawzawl district and two were based in Hnahthial district.

An official said more than 1,600 people from Karnataka, Odisha and Kerala are expected to arrive within this week.

Additional reporting by Henry Khojol in Aizawl