Bihar gives greenlight to Maha Govt, allows as many Shramik Special trains as required

Amid the Shramik special trains row, the Bihar government has given the Maharashtra government a green signal to send as many trains as required with migrants. Bihar Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar on Tuesday stated that Maharashtra has informed Bihar of sending 24 trains. 

Meanwhile, according to the  Indian Railways, as many as 3,274 Shramik special trains have been run till May 25, carrying 44 lakh passengers to their home states. Further, on May 25, 223 Shramik specials ferried 2.8 lakh passengers.

Read: Amid Shramik Special trains row; Piyush Goyal highlights collapse of MVA in Maharashtra

Railways ease Shramik train rules 

The Centre has issued a new order empowering the Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Home Affairs to decide on the movement of Shramik trains. According to the revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), the consent of receiving states is no longer necessary. This move was reportedly necessitated after several states blamed each other for not accepting Shramik train requests. 

Read: Shramik Special trains row: Piyush Goyal lambasts MVA govt, advises against petty politics

Shramik Special trains row

Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had slammed the Centre for not providing enough trains for the migrants to return home in spite of several requests. He had said that the Centre had not made any arrangements for the migrants while imposing the nation-wide lockdown. Revealing that he had sought 80 trains daily for the migrant workers, the CM alleged that only 50% of trains were being permitted. Later, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal appealed to the Maharashtra CM to immediately send a list of passengers with their destination details for the operation of 125 Shramik Special trains on May 25.

However, on Monday, Goyal lashed out at the Maharashtra government for not giving the list of migrant workers so that 125 Shramik Special trains could be operated from the state to ferry them back to their native places. On Tuesday, Goyal urged the MVA government to fully cooperate in ensuring that the distressed migrants are able to reach their homes.

Read: Shramik Special Trains row: Piyush Goyal hits out at MVA govt, urges for full cooperation

Read: Centre counters Uddhav's 'not enough Shramik trains' claim; demands migrant list in 1 hour

(With ANI Inputs)