Lal says the stories of the migrant workers wrenched his heart. He and his team members did whatever they could to help them. Lal says providing food, water and other items to a large number of people was a challenging task. At times, the heat was so extreme that many workers fell ill. Their hungry children demanded food. Their cries rent the air. He says as the migrant workers spent all the money they earned on their way, they had nothing left to buy food and water.
To help the workers better, Lal launched a drive in coordination with the local vendors for distribution of water and food packets. He controlled all the railway stations in the state from his headquarters. Besides the migrant workers, he helped the porters who had no income to meet their daily needs. From his office, he took feedback on how food and water were being distributed at other stations. It was a Herculean task.
Apart from getting off the Shramik Expresses, many migrant workers boarded those trains. Arrangements had to be made for them, too. Lal had to work round the clock, as well as maintain corona protocols. He ensured that his team members did not fall ill.
The first Shramik Special train arrived at Gwalior railway station on May 8 last year. The train carried 1,200 workers from Goa. Then a series of Shramik Expresses brought migrant workers to Madhya Pradesh, or passed through the state carrying those workers. Lal also distributed groceries among the porters. There are 10,000 porters at different railway stations across the state.
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