VELLORE/CHENNAI: When Anurag left Jharkhand for Vellore in March, he was pretty sure he would return home in better health. “I landed in Vellore on March 14, for the treatment of a kidney-related ailment at the Christian Medical College (CMC). The lockdown made life unimaginable,” says Anurag.
“I ran out of cash and had to call up friends back home for help,” he adds.
After being stranded for almost two months, Anurag boarded a special train from Katpadi to Ranchi that left late on Wednesday night. “I cannot explain how relieved and happy I am to be going home. Four of my family members came along with me to attend to my needs. I could not bear to see them suffer through the lockdown, stranded in unknown land,” he told Express before boarding the train. Anurag was one of the 1,140 stranded medical tourists who left the State on Wednesday. All of them had come to the CMC, for treatment of various ailments.
Many more trains to leave for Bihar and West Bengal
Stranded here, most of them had run out of money. Not knowing Tamil made life worse during the lockdown. Taking their plight into account, the State government ensured their ride back home was free of charge. The ticket charge, officials said, would be recovered from the home State of passengers.
A total of 9,000 patients and attendants who came to CMC have been stranded in Vellore, apart from 2,100 guest workers. Many of them were staying in lodges in the city, and were facing threats of eviction by officials and lodge owners.
I came in the second week of March,” says Sanjay Ekkar. “I am so relieved to be returning home now.” Speaking to Express, official sources said that a few days ago, one of the patients under treatment at CMC tested positive. “This prompted the State government to arrange special trains. Many patients who underwent surgery and other critical procedures were forced to live in lodges and hotels, which were in unhygienic condition. There might make Vellore another cluster for coronavirus infection,” an official added.
Based on the district administration’s recommendation, the government decided to send back the stranded patients and submitted a travellers list to the railways on Wednesday. The special train is likely to reach Ranchi at 5.30 am on Friday. It will have stoppages at select stations for crew change. The train has 24 sleeper class coaches and the middle berth has been left vacant to ensure social distancing.
As a result, only 54 persons could be accommodated in each coach. The original plan was to send 1,840 people by the Wednesday train. The rest of them, officials said, would be sent by another special train today.
In addition to the food and water bottles given by the State authorities, the passengers will be provided meals during travel, for which the Indian Railways has paid ` 50 per meal to IRCTC. More trains will leave from Vellore soon, to Bihar and West Bengal, zonal task force officer Mangat Ram Sharma said.
Cautious journey
The special train has 24 sleeper class coaches and the middle berth has been left vacant to ensure social distance during travel