Run Special Trains to Send Stranded Migrant Workers Home, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray Urges PM Narendra Modi
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday reiterated his demand for special trains to ensure that stranded migrant workers from other states can return home.
Mumbai, April 21: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday reiterated his demand for special trains to ensure that stranded migrant workers from other states can return home. Hundreds of migrant workers are forced to live in temporary shelter homes after public transport services were suspended due to the nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus. Coronavirus Tracker Live.
Uddhav Thackeray urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to frame guidelines for running special trains to send migrant labourers homes by April end. He conveyed this in a video-conference chat with a 5-member Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) which arrived in the state for an assessment of the COVID-19 management and the lockdown.
Statement by Chief Minister's Office:
Around six lakh migrant labours are being provided with food, shelter and medical assistance in relief camps set up across Maharashtra by the state government. "However, in such times staying away from their homes and families is taking a toll on them," Thackeray said. Coronavirus Count Reaches 18,985 in India With 1329 New COVID-19 Cases in Past 24 Hours, Death Toll Mounts to 603.
"If the central government is anticipating a rise in the transmission of the virus between April 30 and May 15, then it must consider if it can utilise the time at hand to arrange for special trains to send them back home and issue guidelines about this by April-end. I have already raised this issue with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the Chief Minister added.
Thackeray also urged that "end-to-end: precautions" should be taken for migrants from the starting point till they reach their destinations and are sent to home quarantine to prevent further spread of COVID-19.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 22, 2020 12:04 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).