The Punjab government has sanctioned Rs 35 crore, in the first phase, towards its share of the migrants’ cost of transportation by the Indian Railways as the first special ‘Shramik Express’ train, carrying 1,200 stranded migrants, left Punjab for Daltonganj, Jharkhand.
The state government is estimating that five-six lakh of the stranded migrants could opt for train travel to return to their homes from Punjab, with the rest expected to go by road. Taking Rs 640 as the average ticket price, the State Executive Committee has approved Rs 35 crore as the initial amount needed. The funds have been sanctioned under the National Disaster Relief Act, 2005.