Thousands of Indian migrant workers attempting to return home to Odisha state remain stranded after the cyclone forced the cancelation of special trains to the region, a senior railways official has said.
Migrant workers across India have been out of work and away from home since March 25, when a nationwide coronavirus lockdown came into effect.
Special trains had been designated to take the workers home, but 15 scheduled to run along Odisha’s coastal region were suspended from May 19 to 21, railway spokesperson J.P. Mishra said.
“We hope to resume trains for coastal Odisha as soon as the cyclone subsides,” J.P Mishra told CNN.
The local government will loosen some COVID19-related travel restrictions to allow the flow of aid and support for those evacuated from the cyclone’s path, Mishra added.
Of Odisha’s 809 permanent cyclone shelters, 211 are currently being used as COVID-19 quarantine centers. Schools and colleges have been converted to fill that gap.
