642 stranded Himachal residents return from Bengaluru in special train

A total of 642 people from Himachal Pradesh stranded in Karnataka due to coronavirus lockdown arrived here in a special train on Wednesday, officials said.

train arrived at Una railway station in afteron, Deputy Commissioner, Una, Sandeep Kumar said. This was first special train bringing back stranded Himachal Pradesh residents to ir state.

Four more special trains will bring back more state residents from or parts of country in coming days, Kumar said.

Of 642 passengers arriving from Bengaluru in Karnataka, 157 were from Kangra, 131 from Chamba, 84 from Hamirpur, 73 from Shimla, 59 from Solan, 58 from Mandi, 22 from Bilaspur, 20 from Kullu, 19 from Una, 14 from Sirmaur and five from Kinnaur, he said.

passengers were provided masks, sanitisers, water and food before being sent to ir home districts in Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) buses, Kumar said. y will have to remain in quarantine for fourteen days, he added.

Khem Raj from Chamba's Tissa thanked HP government for making special arrangements for ensuring his return to home state. special train was run after Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had made a request to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.