Nearly 1,800 stranded Jammu and Kashmir residents from Delhi and Goa reached Jammu and Udhampur railway stations on Wednesday (13th May 2020) night and Thursday (14th May 2020) morning in two special trains, the number of returnees to J&K crossed 40,000 mark.
A total of 1,018 passengers from New Delhi reached Jammu railway station around 5.05 am on Thursday . “After their screening and sampling, the returnees were sent to their respective districts in buses where they will be kept in administrative quarantine till their Covid-19 reports arrive,” said Chetan Taneja, station director and senior divisional traffic manager, Jammu.
Jammu deputy commissioner Sushma Chauhan, who received the returnees, had a brief interaction with the passengers and wished them safe and comfortable journey ahead. Urging the passengers to cooperate with the district authorities and ensure strict adherence to the guidelines issued by the government, she said, “Following the guidelines is the only option to contain the spread of Covid-19,”.
She said that the administration has ensured that during the boarding and de-boarding process, the passengers observe social distancing and wear masks. The district administration has made elaborate arrangements for receiving these stranded people, she added.
Earlier, a Shramik Special train from Goa brought 759 passengers to Udhampur on Wednesday night. Udhampur district commissioner Piyush Singla said, “Fourth train carrying 759 more passengers from Goa arrived at Udhampur railway station at 8.30 pm on Wednesday.”
Meanwhile, 175 people, including 11 minors stranded at Bathinda, Jammu, left for Kashmir in seven buses. The government had also deployed a fleet of buses for shifting J&K residents stranded in various parts of Maharashtra to Nagpur. Around 900 J&K residents, including 400 students, were brought back by a special train that left Nagpur for Udhampur on Thursday evening.