5 special trains from Mohali cancelled for want of travellers

MOHALI: Five Shramik Special trains scheduled to depart from Mohali have been cancelled due to lack of enough consents from migrant workers from UP, Bihar and Jharkhand , who had earlier registered themselves to board the same. Of the cancelled trains, one was to run on Monday, while two each were scheduled for May 26 and May 27.

Mohali deputy commissioner Girish Dayalan said, "The trains were sought after a rigorous system of calling all the registered persons and seeking their consent. Following the relaxations in lockdown and resumption of industrial and construction activities, there has been approximately 30-35% dropout. Those who consented were sent SMSs to arrive at collection centres, but there was a further dropout of 10-15%."

Five trains were allotted to Mohali on Monday to carry migrants to their home states, but the Jharkhand train was cancelled at the last minute. The four trains left with a total of 3,976 migrant passengers .

Dayalan said after the first two trains saw major dropouts, the administration had to call passengers from nearby districts of Fatehgarh Sahib , Ropar and even Patiala.

Starting May 7, 19 special trains to different states including UP, Jharkhand and Bihar have been sent from Mohali, carrying a total of 23,030 passengers. It was ensured that all trains ran with full capacity and maximum passengers were accommodated in each train.

Besides, nearly 7,030 persons have also left for their destinations by special buses and in their own vehicles. Therefore, in view of the relaxations in lockdown and the past trend, it has been intimated that running trains at such frequency may not be required in the days ahead.