New Delhi, April 16: With the lockdown extension in place till May 3, Indian railways is planning to ply special trains for over 1200 officers and jawans of Indian Army, say reports. These jawans and officers are likely to take trains from Bengaluru to their postings in various parts of India this month.

All the passenger trains have been cancelled till May 3 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of lockdown period. Following this, special permission from the top level of the government as three ministries —Defence, Home and Railways — needs to be taken. IRCTC Will Refund Full Fare for Train Tickets Reserved Till May 3, Says Indian Railways After Announcing Suspension of Services Due to Lockdown Extension.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved the running of two special trains for security forces, the officials said as Hindustan Times quoted,  “The MHA authorities have given their nod for deploying two special trains for security forces."

Here's the ANI tweet:

Informing more about the situation in southern part of country, a railway official said, as quoted by Indian Express, "The moment lockdown was announced these officers were in training at different training centers in Bengaluru, Belgaum and Secundarabad, all of which are under the Southern Command." Adding more, the report claims that each of the stations have 300 to 500 officers and troops who have completed their trainings.

Till now, the governemnt has confirmed two routes to to run non-airconditioned trains for the army—to Guwahati and to Jammu Tawi. However, Defence Ministry had sht that two military special trains are being planned. One has been planned on April 17 which will travel via Ambala and Jammu, while the second will go via Howarah to Guwahati on April 18. Indian Railways Extends Suspension of Passenger Train Services Till May 3 After PM Narendra Modi Addresses the Nation on Lockdown.

Adding more information, the official said, "To meet the operational requirements for Northern and Eastern borders, two military special trains are planned to be run. These are: Bangalore - Belgaum- Secunderabad - Ambala- Jammu on 17 April 20. And Bangalore - Belgaum- Secunderabad - Gopalpur - Howrah - NJP - Guwahati on 18 April 20."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 16, 2020 03:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).