COIMBATORE: The relief was palpable as the Bihar-bound special train for migrant workers departed from Coimbatore Railway Station on Friday night.
From youngsters to the old and families, everyone was seen with a gleaming smile as they set to return to their native after COVID-19 pandemic claimed their jobs here. Around 1,140 Bihar migrants from Pollachi, Kinathukadavu, Perur, and Coimbatore-South taluks were ferried in buses to Coimbatore Railway Station after being provided food by the revenue department.
At the station, the health department staff screened the migrants one-by-one using a thermal scanner and disinfected their luggage.
Speaking to media persons, District Collector K Rajamani said Friday's schedule was phase-one and the remaining Bihari migrants who have registered in the state government's portal (www.nonresidenttamil.org) shall be sent in another special train on Saturday morning.
The migrants from Odisha, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Assam shall be arranged special trains in the coming days, said the collector.
'Never again'
Sachin Kumar, 22, of Samasthapur in Bihar said he worked as a sales boy in a renowned textile showroom here for a monthly payment of Rs 10,000 until the lockdown. He said he has no plans of coming back to Coimbatore.
Likewise, Abhimanyu, 23, of Bapudham said he slept on the streets for a few days after his owner threw him out of the shop when they went out of business. "I was working as a headload worker near Ukkadam. The business was dull due to lockdown. So, my owner told me to leave. Sadly, my wallet with RS 4,500 had gone missing. After that, I slept on the streets, ate food donated by non-profits," he said.
24-year-old Manoj Kumar 24 of Gopalganj district said he was earning Rs 700 a day for toiling hard in a tailoring shop here. "My boss asked me to leave," he said in a depressed tone.
No food
A few migrants who were waiting in the queue to board the train alleged they did not receive the food packets from the revenue department. They claimed they are hungry, and clueless whether or not they would receive food on the train.
With news on migrants returning home on a special train on Friday did the rounds, a number of expatriates flocked near the railway station. However, they were asked to return back until further intimation.
According to the officials, the special train is expected to reach Saharsa, a city in Bihar by Sunday evening. There the migrants would be again screened for COVID-19 symptoms before they will be allowed to move to respective natives, the officials added.