Corona lockdown: First special train from Telangana to Jharkhand carried 1,200 migrant workers back home
Telangana: Giving a major relief to migrant workers amid the lockdown, the Government of India on Friday started a train to ease their transportation.The first train carrying 1,200 migrants to Hatia in Jharkhand started from Lingampally in Telangana at 5am on Friday.
The decision to run special trains got its final nod from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), after considering a request by the Telangana government.
The train from Telangana with 24 coaches, started after taking all the necessary precautions such as prior screening of passengers, maintaining proper social distance at stations and in the train too.
“This was only a one-off special train and any further trains shall be planned only as per the directions of ministry of railways and on request from both the originating and destination state governments,” said spokesperson of South Central Railways (SCR).
“As of now, only one train is running. The decision on further trains will be taken as per the direction of the MHA and talks with the starting and receiving states,” said a senior railway official.
The decision on more trains will be taken after a final notification from the MHA, which is likely to be out on Friday or Saturday.
According to media reports, talks about similar multiple trains from West to Eastern India and from South to Eastern parts are taking place between the respective states and the MHA.
The Indian Railways has now lined up a proposal for movement of stranded migrant laborers across the country by operating 400 trains daily initially and then scaling it up to 1,000. The decision to run migrant trains was taken more than a month after passenger train operations were stopped on March 25.
Earlier this week, the government allowed inter-state movement of stranded workers, students and tourists stuck in various states,
by road in accordance with protocols to be worked out by states receiving the citizens and those where they are currently located.