Happy faces as over 1,000 migrant labourers leave for MP in first special train from Delhi

Carrying their belongings in bags of all shapes and sizes, over 1,000 migrant workers left for their homes in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday in the first Shramik Special train to leave the national capital, their happiness visible even through the face masks they wore to protect themselves from the coronavirus.

Clapping and waiving goodbyes to the railway and security personnel at the platform, many of the migrant workers, who were ferried to the railway station in over 70 buses arranged by the Delhi government, said they would be back when things got back to normal.

"I was staying at a shelter home in Roopnagar for the last eight days. I polish marble slabs for a living. I will come back when things get back to normal," said Balram Kumar, one of the outbound migrants.

Hours before the arrival of the migrants, the road leading to the New Delhi Railway Station was barricaded.

After they alighted from the buses, their names were cross-checked by officials. One of them was not allowed to ...