A couple and their three children arrived at Howrah station from Delhi on Sunday morning and were stuck because of lack of public transport before being helped by police to reach Sealdah station on their way home.

Priyanka Singh, a resident of Patharpratima in South 24-Parganas, husband Manoj Singh, an app cab driver in the national capital, and their two daughters and one son, had to wait for close to 30 minutes before they found a government bus to Esplanade.

The family was headed to Priyanka’s maternal home in Patharpratima, 105km from the heart of Calcutta. Priyanka hoped to get a bus to Diamond Harbour or Namkhana from Esplanade.

On Saturday afternoon, her sister had called Priyanka to inform her about the Covid-19 containment measures to be in force in Bengal from Sunday.

She had “still hoped we would get something from Esplanade,” but in vain. The family reached Esplanade around 11.40pm but there was no bus in the terminus. The roads were deserted.

After waiting for some 15 minutes, Priyanka approached a team of policemen. An officer listened to their plight and arranged for a police car to drop them at Sealdah station.

The officer suggested that the Singhs get on a “staff special train”.

“The officer came as a godsend. We were at a loss what to do with the kids in the scorching heat,” said Manoj, 41.

The car dropped them at Sealdah station. But they were stopped at the gates. Manoj explained their plight to the security personnel and the family was let in after much persuasion.

A jawan told them that a train would leave for Namkhana around 12.30pm. “We reached Namkhana around 3pm,” said Manoj.

What followed was another long wait for a vehicle. Finally, the family hired a motor-powered van to Patharpratima, around 30km away, for a staggering Rs 1,000.

“We had to reach home. There was no other option,” said Manoj.

He has kept his car with his brother in Delhi, where the government has extended the lockdown till May 24. “There is hardly any income,” he said.

Not every passenger arriving at Calcutta on long-distance trains was as lucky. Since morning, many passengers were stranded at Howrah and Sealdah stations for want of transport.