At least 21 babies have been born in these special trains, as per railway officials. (Representational)
On May 8, Mamta, who had boarded a Shramik Special train at Gujarat's Jamnagar went into labour and by the time she got off at her destination in Bihar's Chappra, she had a baby in her arms.
A team of doctors along with railway staff supervised Mamta as she delivered a healthy baby girl after her compartment was converted into a makeshift labour room, according to railway official.
The non-stop Shramik Special from Jamnagar to Muzaffarpur was stopped at Agra Fort station for her to get medical assistance and after the delivery, she was allowed to continue onwards.
According to Railway officials, at least 21 babies have been born in these special trains, being run to transport migrant workers back to their homes, since May 1, amid the lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
"20 babies born in #ShramikSpecialTrains since 1st May 2020! Welcome babies in this new #CoronaWorld," Railway Protection Force (RPF) Director-General Arun Kumar had tweeted on Wednesday from his account, which is not verified on the social media platform.
According to officials, 21 babies were born in separate special trains.
All of the mothers were either attended by a team of RPF staff and medical professionals or shifted to nearby hospital for further treatment.
Unfortunately, two babies were stillborn on May 16 and 17 on separate trains, while a baby girl, born on another Shramik train on May 17 had died after two hours of her delivery.
Women with small children, pregnant women, handicapped persons and elderly are being granted priority to travel on these trains headed back to their native places.