As first batch of migrants leaves Delhi for MP, some are left behind for want of a pass

ThePrint chronicles the departure of the first batch of stranded migrants from New Delhi railway station for Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh.

Two men, one from Uttar Pradesh and the other from MP, stand on the Paharganj bridge looking at the station. They also wanted to leave for their homes, but could not | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

New Delhi: Migrant workers, families and students stranded across the country continue to return their home states in special trains, and the first batch from the national capital left for Madhya Pradesh Thursday evening.

The train left the New Delhi railway station around 8 pm for Chhatarpur in MP; it is slated to go via Mathura, Agra and Gwalior.

The migrants were brought to the station in 72 buses, beginning at around 3 pm. All entry points to the station were blocked and guarded by the police, and no one without a proper pass was allowed in. Some families and individuals from Madhya Pradesh were sent back by the police because they lacked the right passes.

ThePrint photographed the entire process from the arrival of the migrants to the departure of the train.

Police were stationed at every entry point to the New Delhi railway station so that no one without a proper pass could go in | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

Police were also stationed inside the buses that ferried migrants to the station | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

Social distancing was maintained inside the buses | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

Migrant workers and families arrive at the New Delhi railway station in buses | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

Some families and individuals were refused entry due to the lack of a proper pass | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

Homeless people who slept near or at the railway station were asked to leave Thursday morning | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

The special train passes over the Minto Bridge en route to Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint