Chhattisgarh government has arranged 21 Shramik special trains to bring back stranded people, who have been stuck outside the state since the nationwide lockdown restrictions were enforced on March 25 to contain the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, officials said on Tuesday.
“The trains, which will run between Tuesday and May 19, will bring the stranded people to Raipur, Bilaspur, Champa, Rajnandgaon, and Durg stations in the state from Ahmedabad, Vijayawada, Lucknow, Muzaffarpur, Delhi, Mehsana, Hyderabad, Kanpur, and Allahabad,” said a senior public relations officer (PRO) of the state government.
Around 1.2 lakh people are estimated to be stranded outside the state since the lockdown restrictions were enforced.
“So far, the state government has paid Rs 71,93,230 to the Union Ministry of Railways for nine trains, which will ferry 11,846 stranded people,” said Rajesh Kumar Patre, a senior labour department official.
Earlier, the state government had asked the stranded people to get in touch with local administration and register online if they wished to return to Chhattisgarh.
On Monday, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the Centre has only given permission for 15 trains so far, even though the state government had asked for 28 trains to bring back the stranded people.
{{/usCountry}}On Monday, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the Centre has only given permission for 15 trains so far, even though the state government had asked for 28 trains to bring back the stranded people.
{{/usCountry}}Baghel was speaking during the video-conference that was convened by PM Modi with all the CMs, seeking feedback on whether to ease or extend the lockdown restrictions.