'Shramik' trains will run on full capacity, have several stoppages
Shramik special trains, meant to send migrant workers to their home states will now run on full capacity, the Railways announced on Monday. The 24 coaches, having the capacity to nestle 72 people each, were till now ferrying only 54 passengers, considering social distancing measures. But departing from the previous plan, the Centre said it wants to send as many migrant workers as possible.
Weeks after the nationwide lockdown (imposed to stop the contagious COVID-19 disease from spreading) started on March 25, the Centre arranged trains for migrant workers to go home. Before this decision, workers were seen walking on highways as all modes of transportation were suspended. Rendered jobless, some workers continued to walk even after the announcement. This highlights the communication failure of governments.
Notably, since May 1, Railways have ferried over 5 lakh workers. About the decision to have more passengers on-board, a Railway official told PTI, "The Railways has a capacity to run 300 trains per day and we want to maximize it. We want to carry as many migrants home as possible over the next few days and have appealed to states to send approvals."
With changed guidelines, these trains will now nestle over 1,700 workers. Earlier, only 1,200 were allowed and the middle berth remained vacant. Further, the destination state will have three stoppages now. The Centre has also asked the states to give liberal approval to these trains. On Saturday, Home Minister Amit Shah wrote to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee regarding the same.
In a separate statement, Railways said 468 such trains have been operated till 10 am today. "363 trains had reached their destination and 105 trains were in transit," Railways said. The maximum number, 172, terminated in Uttar Pradesh. 100 ended in Bihar, 22 in Jharkhand, 30 in Madhya Pradesh, 25 in Odisha, four in Rajasthan, two in West Bengal, and one in Tamil Nadu.
"These trains have ferried migrants to cities like Tiruchirappalli, Titlagarh, Barauni, Khandwa, Jagannathpur, Khurda Road, Prayagraj, Chhapra, Balia, Gaya, Purnia, Varanasi, Darbhanga, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Jaunpur, Hatia, Basti, Katihar, Danapur, Muzaffarpur, Saharsa, etc.," Railways added.
Meanwhile, the government received criticism after reports emerged that it was charging money from poor workers to send them home. Later, the Centre said it has subsidized 85% of the fare, and receiving states could take a call on the remaining part. However, workers who arrived from Surat to UP said they were charged Rs. 800 for the journey, more than the actual fare.
