Home Ministry Asks Railways to Run 100 ‘Shramik Special’ Trains Daily
The Home Ministry of India said on Monday that the Railways will now run 100 “Shramik Special” trains daily to enable the migrant workers to reach their home state sooner. The government said that since May 1, more than 400 trains have been run, due to which the migrant workers who were stranded due to the lockdown in various states of the country have reached their destinations. In the view of the large number of migrant labourers trapped in different states, the Union Home Ministry has asked the Railways to run 100 labourers special trains daily for the next few weeks so that all people can reach their respective homes.
Meeting of Home Ministry with Railway Officials
In the daily government press conference on Coronavirus updates, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Punya Salila Srivastava said on Monday that, the Ministry of Home Affairs has had a meeting with railway officials and nodal officers of the states through video conferencing on the issue of the return of migrant workers. He said that the Home Ministry emphasized that by increasing the number of trains, people could be sent to their homes sooner.
No Migrant Should Return Home on Foot
The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued an advisory to all the states, instructing that no migrant should return home on foot on the road or railway track. The advisory states that if one is found getting back home on foot, then a bus or train should be arranged for them immediately, and until the bus or train arrives, a proper arrangement should be made for them to eat and drink at the nearest shelter home.
More Than 5 Lakh Migrants Have Returned Home So Far
Punya Salila Srivastava said that the daily rate of return of workers to their home is accelerating every passing day. He informed that till May 10, more than 5 lakh migrants have been transported to their destinations through 468 trains. According to Srivastava, 101 trains had left with migrants on May 10. For increasing the speed of the mission “Ghar vapsi of migrants”, now railways will allow 1700 passengers in one Shramik Special train instead of 1200.
Special Passengers Train Operations Starts Today
Indian Railways have already given a green signal for operating the special passenger trains in the country. Railways will run a total 30 pair of trains between the 15 routes of India. This will connect the transportation between the all part of the country i.e. North, South, East, and West directions to the New Delhi. Earlier, the booking of rail tickets for these special trains had started on Monday evening which received a huge response by passengers and almost all the seats have been booked for the next week.