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‘Railways running Corona Express trains, not Shramik Specials’: CM Mamata
The Shramik Specials are being run by the Centre to help migrants reach home.
Pinning the blame of rising coronavirus cases in the state on the railways, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee accused the national carrier of running “Corona Express trains” and not the Shramik Specials.
“In the name of Shramik Special trains, the railways is running ‘Corona Express’ trains,” Bengal CM was quoted as saying by news agency PTI
The Shramik Specials are being run by the Centre to help migrants reach home.
The CM accused the railways of packing in most migrants in one trains instead of running several of them.
“The railways is sending thousands of migrant workers in one train, why is it not allowing more trains for migrants,” PTI quoted the CM as saying.
Claiming that the state was able to control the spike in the number of cases for the last two months, Banerjee blamed the influx of people as one of the main reasons behind the increase in the number of cases.
“We were successful in controlling the spread of Covid-19 in last two months, but now it is increasing as a lot of people are coming from outside. The Railways is sending migrants in jam-packed compartments...The number of COVID-19 cases is increasing because of this. The Railways has some social obligation, they cannot just operate on the basis of profit and loss,” she said.
The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that states can’t say no to receiving migrants and that they must be allowed free travel by trains and buses to their respective states.
It also directed the railways to provide them food during the journey.
