Thousands of migrant labourers are visiting Bihar to celebrate the auspicious chhath and Eid festivals.

Trains from New Delhi, Mumbai, Gujarat and Punjab are packed with migrants visiting home for chhath, where people worship the sun god for a longer life and better health.

Railway officials in the East Central Railway headquarters at Hajipur said that this year, the rush is heavier than usual since the Muslim festival Eid falls a few days before chhath.

Over 50 lakh migrant labourers are working all over India and most of them save for months to visit home during chhath, the most popular Hindu festival in Bihar.

Interestingly, the Bihar government has no record about the numbers of migrant labourers from state.

"It is a fact that there is no record of the number of people who migrate," a senior official of the labour department said.

Half the population of Bihar -- the second most populous state in India with 8.3 crore people -- live in poverty.