Maharashtra: 3300 from Jammu and Kashmir evacuated by 4 trains

Around 3300 Jammu and Kashmir residents including 1200 students who were stranded in various parts of Maharashtra have been evacuated by four Shramik special trains during the past 10 days, an official said.

This is the highest number of trains deployed in any single state for the evacuation of J&K residents facilitating return of 97 per cent of the stranded residents, he said.

The process for evacuating J&K residents from Maharashtra by Shramik trains began on May 14 with the first such train leaving Nagpur for Udhampur railway station with around 1000 stranded persons on board.

The train carried J&K residents stranded in Nagpur and adjoin districts of Akola, Wardha, Aurangabad, Yavatmal, Amravati, Raigad, Gondia, Nashik, Washim, Bhandara, Palghar, Buldhana, Akola and Latur, an official statement said.

It was followed by another such train carrying 1000 J&K residents, including 500 students. It left Pune for Udhampur on May 19. The train carried J&K residents stranded in Pune and adjoining districts of Satara, Kolhapur, Ahmednagar, Solapur, Dhule, Nanded, Buldhana and Jalgaon.

Another 700 J&K residents, including 100 students, left for Udhampur from Thane railway station by a Shramik train on May 22. The train carried J&K residents who were stranded in Navi Mumbai, Raigad and other adjoining areas.

The fourth Shramik train carrying around 600 stranded persons from J&K including 200 students, left for Udhampur railway station from Bandra Terminus, Mumbai on May 23. The train carried the J&K residents stranded in Mumbai.

The stranded persons evacuated by the trains included patients, students, traders, handicraft vendors, labourers, private security guards and employees from banks, private sector and the government, the statement said.

Around 30 cancer patients from J&K, who were in Tata Memorial Hospital Mumbai for treatment, and their attendants who got stranded in Mumbai due to the lockdown were also evacuated.