the big story

WTF is going on with Shramik trains?

First, the numbers: Number of cases in India: 158,086. The tally of deaths: 4,534. Maharashtra recorded its highest number of deaths in a single day: 105. Elsewhere, the US death toll has now crossed 100,000.

The TLDR: Nine people have died in less than 48 hours in the special trains arranged to take migrant workers home—with some calling it a ‘maut ka safar’. We took a closer look and discovered a toxic and all-too-familiar cocktail of incompetence and indifference. And as always, it is the poorest who are on the receiving end.

Some background on these trains

The so-called Shramik trains have been arranged by the Indian Railways to transport 1 crore migrant workers, students, pilgrims left stranded by the lockdown. As of May 25, the government has “operationalised” 3274 trains, and claims to have distributed 74 lakh free meals and 1 crore water bottles to its passengers.

So anyone can show up and get on?

No. Our netas would never countenance such a straight-forward process. Here’s how this public transport yojana works:

• Seats available: The 24-coach trains carry a maximum of 1,200 passengers—without middle berth tickets to allow for social distancing. 
• The fare: The non-AC sleeper tickets are not free as such. But the Indian Railways bears 85% of the costs, while states have to either shell out the remaining 15%—or collect it from passengers. But there’s plenty of price-gouging on the black market.
• Boarding process: Workers cannot directly book tickets. They have to first register with their home state (of destination)—which in turn sends a list of passengers to the state of departure. 
• The selected passengers receive a call, and show up at Covid screening centres to be cleared to board the train. They are then transported by special buses to the station.
• And off they go… or not.
  

Why? What goes wrong?

A whole lot of things, and all of them lead to dangerous and often life-threatening delays.

Trains that never depart: As Indians, we are all used to trains and buses that never leave on time at the best of times. But in this case, the delays can be catastrophic. For example, migrants—including pregnant women and children—queued up outside screening centres. They waited for 24 hours in the midst of a heatwave only to be told that there will be no trains to Bihar for the next three days. And they were only served water and biscuits. 

An eight-months pregnant woman told NDTV: "We will die like this... because of hunger. I have been here since 11 am yesterday (Tuesday). We haven't even been given water and the police keep threatening us."

Trains that never arrive: Once the passengers board the train, they are supposed to be served food and water on long-distance routes. But the trains often stop for hours in the middle or take a different route. Passengers find themselves trapped in the middle of nowhere without food or water—like those who took the train from Bangalore that took four days to reach Darbhanga in Bihar.

Here’s a telling example: A 58-year-old passenger named Sayan Kumar Singh boarded the train from Mumbai to Patna on Monday, May 25. The passengers were not served either food or water until they arrived in Prayagraj on Tuesday. By then, it was too late for Singh who died because he couldn’t take his medicines without water. Point to note: The passengers were given a packet of dry bhel at Prayagraj. Still no water. 

What does the Railways say?

Here are the three lines of defence. One, the delays are due to congestion on the  tracks, especially on popular routes to UP and Bihar. Two, the delays are due to lack of cooperation from state authorities. Three, this is, in fact, “route rationalisation” to ensure that “trains are not held up at one place for hours without water and food.” 

Asked about the recent deaths, a Railways spokesperson said: 

Few deaths have been reported in Shramik Special trains. In most of these cases, it is discovered that those who died are old, sick people and chronic-disease patients who had gone to big cities to get medical treatment.

The bottomline: A number of those who died on the trains (including unwell babies) did indeed have various medical ailments—recent surgery, heart disease, diabetes or anemia. Just like the coronavirus, our Railways only kills those with underlying conditions.

The reading list

• Indian Express has details on the recent deaths—and the Railways’ ‘route rationalisation’ defence.
• Saahil Murli Menghani has been tracking and documenting conditions of Shramik trains.
• Scroll has the best reporting on the food and water shortage.
• Also see: This Telegraph report on a single journey from Delhi to Patna that eventually claimed the life of a child.
• It is your personal choice whether you want to watch this NDTV clip of a toddler trying to wake his dead mother.

*Photo by Frank Holleman/Unsplash