Heavy rush among migrant workers to go to native places in festive season

As the festive season begins in India, thousands of migrant workers become eager to go to their native places and long queues are seen at railway stations. According to an NDTV report, in this festive season running from the end of October to the end of November, workers employed in factories, construction sites, restaurants and other informal sectors return to their native places to meet family members and celebrate festivals. This massive return to native places is not just an occasion for family reunion, but its economic aspects are also very interesting. Workers do spend on new clothes, sweets and other items, but a large part of their earnings is spent on travel. The total travel cost of workers including tickets and local travel expenses can reach up to ₹7,600.

The economics behind this travel motivates workers to reach home despite many difficulties. According to NDTV, keeping in view this massive travel arrangement during the festive season in India, Indian Railways has made comprehensive planning. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday that 18,000 special trains are being run by the national transporter for the 2026 festive season. Last year, that is in 2025, 12,000 special trains were run, compared to which there has been a massive increase of 50 percent in the number of trains this year.

Every year as Diwali and Chhath Puja approach, heavy crowd and rush are seen at railway stations of major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Surat and Ahmedabad. All trains going towards Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal are completely packed and buses also run packed to capacity. However, no official data is available for the exact number of workers going to their native places for special festivals.

In this regard, data of the 2011 Census is available from the Union Ministry of Labour, according to which there are 4.14 crore interstate migrant workers in India. A report released by the ministry stated that the total migration rate in India was 28.9 percent and in rural areas this rate was 26.5 percent.

Apart from this, important information regarding the reasons for travel of Indians has also come to light in the recent National Household Travel Survey conducted by the National Statistics Office between July 2025 and June 2026. According to this survey, social and religious activities account for 70.2 percent share in travel undertaken with overnight stay by household members. For this type of travel, 55.8 percent people considered bus as the preferred vehicle, while the share of inter-city railway travel stood at 17.7 percent.

For a worker earning a regular monthly wage, this journey to go to their native place proves to be a major financial burden. During the COVID-19 lockdown, this economic struggle and the realities of travel came to light on a very large scale, where workers had to struggle hard to reach their homes amidst many challenges.