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'Don't panic', appeals Railways, dismisses 'rush' ahead of Maharashtra curfew
No shramik special train is being run by the railways, Central railway has said and dismissed that there is any rush at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, before stricter restrictions come into effect in Mumbai and in all other districts of Maharashtra.
The Central Railway on Wednesday urged Mumbai people to not panic and avoid crowding at the stations as stricter restrictions will come into force in the city, as well as across the state, from 8pm on Wednesday. In the period between April 14 and May 1, only essential services will be allowed in Maharashtra, which reportedly triggered a panic among workers, daily wagers who are queuing up at stations to board long-distance trains. The restrictions were announced on Tuesday.
Central Railway's chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar said people should not panic and avoid crowding the stations, news agency PTI reported. "Only passengers having confirmed tickets are permitted to board the special trains and they should reach the stations one-and-a-half hours before the train's departure time," he said.
With time-to-time updates, the Central Railway on its social media platform claimed that there is no unusual rush.
The Railway Protection Force and the Government Railway Police have deployed additional force outside the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT, which is regularly seeing a swarm of people.
As the Maharashtra government for the past few weeks was gradually moving towards lockdown-like situation, reports of another migrant crisis started doing the rounds. It was also rumoured that the railways was running Shramik Special trains.
The Central Railway has dismissed the rumours and claimed that the special trains running from Mumbai are regular summer special trains, which are run every year during the summer vacation. It has also claimed that the rush at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, the major railway station in Kurla, is not unusual.
