Indian Railways: 14 lakh people sent back to home states till May 15 midnight
The Ministry of Railways stated that 1074 ‘Shramik Special’ trains have repatriated 14 lakh stranded people back to their home states as of Friday (May 15) midnight.
In a tweet with the hashtag #IndiaFightsCorona, the Railway ministry had attached a press release with the above numbers dated May 16. The statement also said that the transportation is expected to be scaled up to 3 lakh passengers per day.
It further stated that mission ‘Back Home’ was undergoing in full steam and that trains were operated only after concurrence was given by both originating and receiving states.
“Proper screening of passengers is ensured before boarding the train and free water and meals are provided to passengers during the journey,” said the statement.
More than 14 lakhs stranded people transported back to their home State till 15th May
Indian Railways operated 1074 Shramik Special trains across the country
In days to come, it is expected to be scaled upto 3 lakh passengers/day https://t.co/GLLgjt3uWX#IndiaFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/VOzJQPkQXv
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) May 16, 2020
Many replies to the statement tweeted out by news agency ANI, questioned the authenticity of the numbers and vented that some of them were still stranded.
What kind of data is this?
10 days passed didn't get sms for trains so far my fellow students in Noida ncr exhausted waiting to go, why this kolaveri di? You've failed us— IrfanIvon?? (@irfan_ivon) May 16, 2020
@PiyushGoyal @Indianrailway18 @PMOIndia @rashtrapatibhvn All tickets of speicial trains get bookes within second by brokers, normal person are not able to buy it trying from 11th may still didnt get ticket , stranded here in delhi with my family from 50+ days .pls help us out
— Ravi Mohan (@ravigrt3) May 16, 2020
Earlier this month, the government began operating special ‘Shramik’ trains to ferry stranded migrant labourers across the country to their native places amid the coronavirus lockdown.
On May 12, the government started 15 inter-state passenger trains starting from Delhi. However earlier in the week, they announced the cancellation of train tickets booked till June 30 and offered a full refund to the customers. The Shramik Special trains were exempted from this.