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The Indian Railways is prepared to operate 300 trains a day to transport stranded migrant workers to their places of origin, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said on Sunday, and also called on states to step up efforts to ensure workers reach their destinations across the country. the next three or four days.
According to his ministry, the railways operated until Sunday with a total of 366 Shramik special trains with more than 360,000 migrant workers from various states. While 287 trains have already reached their destinations, 79 were in transit.
“Under the instructions of the Honorable PM Narendra Modi ji, Railways is fully prepared to run 300 Shramik special trains every day on short notice from the past six days. I call on all states to give permission to evacuate and bring back their stranded migrants so that we can take them home in the next 3-4 days, ”Goyal tweeted.
Shramik’s special trains, which started on May 1, run to a single destination without interruption. They generally have 24 coaches, each with just over 50 instead of the total capacity of 72. These trains operate over distances of more than 500 km with at least 90% occupancy.
According to state estimates on April 30, about 10 million workers were stranded across the country; many of them struggle after losing their jobs due to the blockade.
The trains are operated by the railways only after both parties give their consent, states that send passengers and those that receive them, the ministry said. In an earlier guideline, the Center asked sending and receiving states to coordinate the transit of migrant workers, who are trapped across India due to continued blockade caused by coronavirus disease.
A total of 287 trains have reached their destinations in various states: Andhra Pradesh (1 train), Bihar (87 trains), Himachal Pradesh (1 train), Jharkhand (16 trains), Madhya Pradesh (24 trains), Maharashtra (3 trains)), Odisha (20 trains), Rajasthan (4 trains), Telangana (2 trains), Uttar Pradesh (127 trains), West Bengal (2 trains). The special trains departed from states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan and Telangana.
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have received the maximum number of migrants with more than 80,000 people each, according to data from the Ministry of Internal Railways. Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand followed.
West Bengal, which also has a large migrant population, has received only two special trains so far amid a war of words with the Center. Interior Minister Amit Shah was reported to have sent a letter to the state accusing him of not receiving immigrants.
Following Shah’s letter, West Bengal said it had accepted three more trains from Karnataka, two from Tamil Nadu, one from Telangana and two from Punjab.
“However, West Bengal has not approved any trains from Maharashtra, while there is a requirement for 16 trains to West Bengal and there are currently 6 pending applications for which West Bengal approval is still awaited,” the ministry said on Saturday by the night.
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