Maharshtra alleged that not enough trains were provided to them.
Mumbai:
Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal again criticized the government of Maharashtra on Tuesday, accusing the state of withholding passenger information, which led to numerous special Shramik trains used to transport passengers. migrant workers blocked by COVID-19 lock, but not functioning.
Goyal tweeted that the railways had scheduled 145 trains for Tuesday, but only 13 trains could run until 3:00 p.m. due to a lack of passengers.
At the request of the government of Maharashtra, we organized 145 special Shramik trains today. These trains have been ready since morning. 50 trains were scheduled to leave until 3 p.m. but only 13 trains were due to lack of passengers.
– Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) May 26, 2020
I ask the government of Maharashtra to cooperate fully to ensure that migrants in distress can reach their homes and bring passengers to the stations in time, without causing further delays. This will affect the whole network and planning.
– Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) May 26, 2020
Earlier, the railways released statements saying they planned 125 trains to evacuate migrants from Maharashtra on Monday, but the state government could only provide information on 41 trains until 2 am morning.
“Of these 41 trains, only 39 trains could operate because the passengers could not be brought by the local authorities and these two trains had to be canceled.
“After careful planning and sustained efforts, the Railways mobilized their resources in a very short time and prepared 145 Shramik trains from Maharashtra on May 26,” said a statement released by the Railways.
“Until noon, 25 trains were scheduled to depart from Maharashtra to operate, but no departure could not occur due to the lack of passengers. Boarding of the first train could not start at CSMT until 12:30 pm,” said the communicated.
In the past two days, Piyush Goyal and the government of Maharashtra have been locked in a dispute over Shramik Special trains, with the state alleging that there are not enough trains available to them.
Goyal said Sunday evening that his ministry would work overnight if it received a list of trains, passengers and destinations from the chief minister of Maharashtra within the hour. Provocation – Mr. Thackeray alleging that he had obtained only half of the trains he had requested.
“Where is the list of 125 trains from Maharashtra? At 2 am I received the list of only 46 trains, five of which to West Bengal and Odisha that cannot operate due to Cyclone Amphan. We we are notifying only 41 trains for today despite their preparation for 125 !!! “- Mr. Goyal tweeted on Monday at 2:11 am.
Shiv Sena, MP for Sanjay Raut, later replied: “We have sent the list. The only request for Piyush Goyal is that the train reaches its destination. A train to Gorakhpur should not reach Odisha.” He was referring to a Maharashtra migrant train reaching Odisha instead of UP last week due to confusion.
